Veronika loves her doll toys and frequently plays with them solo, but today we devoted some time to focus on doll play together. Some of our games were familiar to her, but I threw in some new activities, too!

First I simply set out all the doll accessories around her, and encouraged her to play. She loves to dress the dolls (and undress them!)…

…and to do diaper changes and feed them. Beyond merely mirroring adults in their lives, children build empathy when they care for dolls or other toys in this way.

Now it was time for something new! I read her a favorite story (Sleeping Beauty), and after we read each page, I encouraged her to act it out with the dolls. She loved rocking the baby when Princess Aurora is born.

And dancing the babies at the ball.

And then rescuing them with a kiss!

Paper dolls are another great toy, in general, but Veronika is still too young for the regular version. The perfect toddler alternative? Magnet dress-up dolls! I showed her a new magnet set, featuring two dolls and lots of clothes and accessories that can be mixed and matched. She immediately loved playing fashionista.

Dolls were also great for talking about body parts. “Where is the girl’s arm?” I asked her. “Where is her hair?” And of course there will be lots of clothing vocabulary, too.

To tie it all together, I drew her the outline of a few fancy dresses from the Sleeping Beauty book.

She colored these in (with a little mommy help).

Then we dressed the magnet dolls in these cut-out dresses!