Search Results for: blog engage in pretend play

Oh The Ways That They Play

As your toddler grows, he or she can learn to play in different and more challenging ways. Teaching toddlers basic games like tag or hide and seek is a fun way to play together and help your toddler learn new things. The other day, I laughed so hard as I started teaching Dylan how to play hide and seek. First of all, it is so cute to hear him counting, even though the numbers are not quite in the right order. Also, since it takes time to learn how to play a new game, he was having a little trouble … Continue reading →

Food Play: Haba’s Pretend Food Toys

It’s okay to play with your food. Especially if that food is pretend food. No mess or worries of a kitchen disaster made my little hands. HABA is a toy manufacturer whose endless supply of imagination sparkers and creative toys will keep children engaged for hours. Now you can find brand new pretend food to keep your little chefs busy. The Food Sets: Grill Set Sizzle: From personal experience I can tell you this is adorable. The little grill has kept my three year very happy grilling away even on a rainy day. The set comes with a steak, little … Continue reading →

Dramatic Play: Aeromax My 1st Career Gear

Children love to role play. Having spent a lot time around children through having my own daycare to having children to teaching Sunday school, I know that once you bring out the dress up boxes or pretend boxes you will have children engaged in play. Children are always trying to be like the adults around them. They see a certain magic in the world of grownups. Being unaware of bills and stress all they see is adults doing very cool things like fixing boo boos, putting out fires, or baking cakes. Meshing these ideas together into a day of dramatic … Continue reading →

The importance of imaginary play for preschoolers

Like most kids her age, my daughter is engrossed in imaginary play. She loves to invent characters and act out scenarios in her dollhouse and her Lego blocks. The current characters have rather creative names like Tuna and Alukia. I’m rather partial to Tuna. We’ve talked about why down time is important for preschoolers. Having some time to relax and reflect is good for all of us. Yes, preschoolers are a busy bunch, and even if you schedule down time, they won’t generally go and sit on the couch. If you give them the option (and turn off the television), … Continue reading →

Ways to Engage Your Toddler

How much time did you spend playing with your toddler today? Childhood development experts recommend that parents spend at least a couple of hours a day engaging their toddler in meaningful activities. If you failed to make your one-on-one quota today, then consider incorporating these simple toddler activities into your schedule tomorrow: BLOCKS Toddler activities don’t have to be expensive or complicated. If you are short on time, then grab some basic blocks and start building structures with your toddler. Another idea is to use the blocks to make patterns. This requires some concentration on your toddler’s part, so plan … Continue reading →

Plenty of Pretending

Fantasy play is so important in the development of young minds—but children tend to go in stages. As the parent, you may notice that pretending, make-believe, and fantasy play tends to come and go in stages and phases. Just when you think your seven or eight year old has outgrown pretending, it will reappear in the play of a nine-year-old. Different children have different ways of playing pretend—but it is normal and a key developmental way of learning and processing the world. Some children like to play dress-up and have the dramatic pretend play, while others prefer to do what … Continue reading →

Let’s Pretend: How Do You Teach Your Toddler to Pretend?

This may sound like an odd topic, but the truth is pretending play is one of the best parts of childhood and children have fertile and amazing imaginations. Many believe that children spontaneously develop their imaginations and while this may be true for many, the truth is—you can help them to build this skill and talent. How do you help them? Here are a few ways that I have seen other parents as well as myself do in order to help them develop their talent for pretend. Obstacle Course Toddlers love to climb. They love to explore. So take a … Continue reading →

School Suspends Fourth Grader for Using Imagination

It is typical for young children to re-enact the stories that they watch in a movie. One of the reasons they do this is simply because it is fun. In addition, children engage in imaginative play in order to figure out the world around them and where they might fit into it as an adult. Play can be an important component of learning. That being said, a fourth grader who is a student at Kermit Elementary School, in Kermit, Texas, was suspended for using his imagination in a way that is typical of children who have been inspired by a … Continue reading →

Making Paper Dolls: Vintage, Modern, and Invented!

Paper dolls are a lovely way to celebrate a rainy day! With a book or a stash of paper dolls and their clothes, small children can have hours of fun doing pretend play and making clothes and houses for their dolls. Since paper dolls and doll books are very much a part of centuries gone by, sometimes they can be difficult to find in stores. Look online or explore these paper doll books. Where can you find paper dolls? Paper dolls can be found in the oddest of places! Check the library to see if there are books of paper … Continue reading →

Balancing Preschool Parenting and Work At Home

If you work at home and have a preschooler, how do you work and how do you parent? I’ve a relative newbie to this work-at-home gig. Juggling contracts and consistent blogging gigs can be a little crazy when you are also the primary caregiver for a small child. Small children know that the computer is sucking your brain away, no matter how much you work to pretend it isn’t happening. How do I structure my work at home day? Well, on my at home days, my daughter watches half an hour of television in the morning. That is the beginning … Continue reading →