Doorway Drawings
Episode # 123. The Door
In a tall rectangular-shaped box, the children give the Storypeople a door. Grandpappa and Mrs. Lady are on opposite sides of the door. When they both try to pull or push it open at the same time, neither can get it to open but they can't figure out why. After the children give them a doorbell, Grandpappa rings the bell and Mrs. Lady opens the door. Hello! Then the Boohbahs do a pushing and pulling dance.

Directions
Play a doorway drawing game. On a thick piece of paper or cardboard, draw a door that covers the middle third of the page. Start it at the bottom and leave at least an inch at the top. Cut along one side and the top of your drawing to make the door into a flap that you can open and close.

Place a blank sheet of paper under the "door". You and your child can then take turns being the "visitor." The visitor secretly draws something on the blank paper so that it can be seen when the door is opened. When the visitor is done with their drawing, they close the door and say "ding dong". The other player asks "Who's there?" The visitor invites the player to guess and the player then asks questions about the visitor starting with the phrase "Are you...?" When they have enough information, the player can guess who the visitor is. If the player is correct, he gets to open the door and become the next visitor.

If no paper is available, you can also play the game just by using your imagination and pretend that someone is at the door. In addition, you and your child might explore doorbells. Doorbells make interesting sounds and many young children will want to ring them over and over again. Teach your child appropriate doorbell etiquette, i.e., ringing once and waiting for the person inside to answer.

Talk About It
While viewing The Door episode, you might start a conversation by asking your child: "What would you do if someone knocked on the door or rang the bell?" Talk with your child about the importance of not opening the door without an adult's permission. As you talk about the things on screen, you can help expand your child's vocabulary by alternating the words you use with their synonyms. In the The Door episode you might describe the door as closed or shut.