When she was younger, my daughter loved to create elaborate scenarios with dolls and stuffed animals. Her stories often reflected some of the challenges she was navigating in her own life. She might act out a disagreement with a sibling, imagine taking over a parent’s role, or develop alternative outcomes in situations where she didn’t get her way.
Gabby of Netflix’s fame does the same thing with her dollhouse companions. But as she gets older, she wonders how her relationship with her cats (and her friends) will change. Watch Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie together and use one or more of these activities with young children to explore the themes of imagination, differences, feelings, and teamwork.
Gift dollhouse. Gabby’s dollhouse was created by her grandmother. Then Gabby helps her grandmother create a dollhouse for her little sister. Invite children to draw a picture of a dollhouse they would create for a sibling or friend. Ask: What do you think your friend would most want in their house? What kind of rooms will you include? How will you begin to decorate them?
Cat-sized. With her magic ears, Gabby can shrink to the size of a cat in her dollhouse. Pretend with children to shrink to cat-size and then imagine looking around. Ask: What looks different about the room when you are so small? What are some things you could do when you are small that you can’t do when you are big? Pretend to do some of those things together.
Dance party. Gabby goes room to room inviting everyone to dance with her and giving instructions. Invite children to take turns creating their own dance moves. Encourage them to teach their moves to family or group members. Then try putting all the dance moves together in a family or group dance.
Differences. Different creatures have different ways of playing. Chumsley and the drawer cats create things and make a mess. The woodland creatures play hide and seek. The aquarium creatures sing and dance. Encourage children to make a list of a lot of ways to play. Challenge them to come up with at least 25 different possibilities.
Big feelings. After Vera stops playing with Chumsley, he ends up forgotten in a drawer. When he is brought back to life, he has big feelings about the years that he lost. Encourage children to use their bodies to show how they think Chumsley felt. Then ask them to demonstrate how they would feel if people forgot them. Lastly, ask them to show how they would feel when others want to spend time with them.
Teamwork. When Gabby is far from the dollhouse, she relies on the audience to sing a song to help her make the leap back. Ask children: When do you need help to do something? Who do you want or need on your team? Invite them to act out scenarios where they practice teamwork to help each other.
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