In February, our country celebrated the achievement of Black Americans throughout history. Of course, here at Goose Goose Duck, we strive to inspire children to become the very best version of themselves year round. After all, our babies are tomorrow’s history makers. The video reviews the alphabet with careers from A to Z. Sung to the catchy “Pop Goes The Weasel” tune, the lyrics encourage children to be whatever they want to be.
![ABC Occupations Song for Kindergarten 🔠 Explore what you want to be when you grow up! [learn A to Z]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_gvAXvmHl1E/sddefault.jpg)
My three year old watched the simple animation entranced. When it was over, I asked her, “What she wants to be when she grows up?” She answered with concern, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” Then, immediately, asked to watch the video again. The next viewing she was even more focused. When her face lit up, I thought she figured out what she wanted to be. Instead, she pointed to the little girl and exclaimed, “I want to play with her!”
Well, ok.
But how can we take the video off the screen and deliver the learning into her little hands?
Then it hit me. It was time for some old school, paper doll fun. Our plan was to turn the girl and boy main characters into 8″ Black paper dolls printables. Happy with the representation, we then designed 30 career outfits for pretend play. I had them printed out on card stock for durability and showed them to my girls. What happened next was well worth the effort.
Not only was my three year old thrilled, my seven year old volunteered to help cut out the dolls. My youngest excitedly pointed to what outfit she wanted the dolls to try on next and we got to work cutting out the outfits. My crafty daughter enjoyed the task and even hummed the “You Can Be Whatever You Want” song as she snipped and cut away!
Her younger sister gravitated to any outfits with skirts or lab coats. However, in the end, her favorites were the make-up artist and the carpenter. My three year old dressed up the boy doll “like Daddy” and next thing you know she was playing house with the paper dolls.
Even my seven year old was inspired. We had just done the MLK Activity Pack that focuses on building strong communities. She whipped out paper and wrote “City Plans” on the top of one page. Then, she told her little sister that they should create a city. She asked her what they should have in their city, patiently listened and wrote her own ideas based off of the paper dolls.
The list included:
school
fire station
dance class
forest
beach
dentist
toy store
stage house
bouncy place
pizzeria
On another page she wrote, “Rules of the City.”
be nice
do not play in store
listen
do not be loud
be yourself
no lip kissing (the little one had Paper Mom and Dad kissing one too many times)
love the things you love
remember you are loved
Then they named the city after themselves and voted to build the city! My seven year old stapled the pages together and they both set off to create the city in the playroom. As adults, it is easy to forget the importance of imaginative play and the joy from simple things. In my attempt to inspire them, my girls inspired me.
I invite you to check out our latest video and share the magic in your home. The paper dolls, they are now available on Etsy. As part of the GGD family, use Coupon Code GGDFAM for $4 OFF.