Archive for the ‘Pretend Play’ Category

This was an impromptu activity, I didn’t plan it at all. I was finishing up a post for Parentella about school anxiety when my son decided that he had enough of Legos, and since it was pouring outside his beloved backyard was off limits too. I suggested we play library. By the time he was all set up my final proof read was done and we were playing.

1. Gather your props. You will need LOTS of books, an old computer to be the check out , a cloth bag and” library” card . You could make a card as a craft before hand if you want or just use a old Starbucks card.
2. Set up your library. Ours was set up on our family room couches. My son sorted the books by ones for big kids and ones for little kids. I couldn’t tell the difference but the fact that he initiated the sorting and classification was good enough for me. We popped my old laptop on the coffee table for check out.
3. Next ask your librarian to help with book suggestions. This was eye opening for me he suggested some great books by title, this is a great way to get a sense of which books your child remembers and loves.
4. Time to check out books. I had to pay a fine too. Isn’t it fun when you realize your kids is listening all.the.time.
5. Next it’s story time!

Pretend play isn’t just fun, it’s an important component to early childhood education. It allows kids to practice social situations, learn by doing and develop storytelling skills as well. So grab some books and turn your living room into a library .

It’s no secret how much my son loves firetrucks and doing firetruck crafts. I won’t be shocked if I get a restraining order from the fire department in town for stalking, I am always driving by slowly to let my son see which trucks at at the station. Obsession is perhaps not a strong enough word. So during the bruhaha of becoming a big brother I have stockpiled some super fun ideas that I knew he’d be into and we could have some mama son time like before so there is some continuity in his life.

1. Gather your materials. You will need some milk cartons, plain paper, double sided tape , red paint, some black and white paper , glue and scissors.
2. Start by taping the cartons together. You can use hot glue as well but double stick tape is easier with eager helping hands.
3. Cut doors in each carton.
4. Cover with paper. We used butcher paper ( find it at Walmart under the title “craft paper” for cheap), There is probably an easier way of doing this but I wrapped it then re cut the door holes.
5. We colored with crayons first just because we wanted to but decorate it how you see fit.
6. Paint with red paint. If your child wants to they can draw windows , signs, etc with permanent marker first before painting it.
7. While they paint ask them what number station they want it to be and make a sign with the white and black paper. If they are able to write have them do this after painting.
8. Add glue for the sign.
9. Add the sign.
10. Let dry and play… or if you are my son play with it before it’s dry. I couldn’t stop him!

Books

Clifford The Firehouse Dog by Norman Birdwell is not my favorite book. Generally speaking character books never are. They are formulaic, lacking in originality and in general poor quality. This book is no exception, but I have still read it 400 times. My son loves it. He loves anything about firetrucks or firefighters , saw it at the library and grabbed it.  I would rather him enjoy an ok book than no book at all. I am just not personally a fan of this franchise. If your child is into this character or theme I would get this from the library, but I wouldn’t waste your money on it unless you can’t get your child to read anything else. There are much much better books surrounding this theme to choose from ( the two below are fantastic).

Firefighters: Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell is a wonderful rhyming book all about the work firefighters do. After only reading it twice my son was rhyming along with the simple but well crafted text. I liked that there was a mix of male and female firefighters, that the text incorporates information about equipment as well as tasks the firefighters complete on a call. Perhaps my favorite thing about this book are the details in the illustrations by Viviana Garofoli, the soot on the faces of the rescued and firefighters, the unique angles used in the illustrations and the fun colors. Great book!

Firefighter Frank by Monica Wellington was a huge score at the library. My son and I both love this author/illustrator and have read many of her books , but this one has never been available, and I can see why. The author has a knack for sharing information with her readers in a fun, simple way that is perfect for preschoolers. This book is no exception to her other great books.  I particularly enjoy some of the vocabulary she uses in this book about Firefighter Frank, words like shrill, intense, and exhausted. They aren’t obscure words but they are not often seen in books geared to those as young as this one, and the context is supportive so that even a young child can help decipher the meaning of the words.  The book itself tells a simple( and common) story but between the author’s ability to tell the story better than other authors, and the bright and beautiful illustrations this books stands out from the firefighter crowd.

Speaking of fire trucks did you enter my

Constructive Playthings Toy Review and $50 gift certificate giveaway?

Teaching children about money is not a one time thing. It will take years to instill all the lessons we want them to learn, my husband is a banker and you better believe that this is but the very tip of the iceberg but we will leave lessons about investing, interest rates and such for another year or 5 !  Today we focused on learning the names and denominations of the coins and dollar bills while playing bakery.

1. Gather your materials. We are using a few props for our bakery, play cookies, an apron for our baker, a cake stand and place mat, a magna doodle, real money and a little change purse.
2. Start by setting your prices. I kept it simple so that we could focus on our lesson which was identifying the coins and amounts. If you wanted to focus on addition I would make the cookies cost amounts that would facilitate addition ( $1.25, 75cents etc..) but if your goal is the same as mine make them for exact coin amounts. I did make other cookies $2 but that was easy for him with the dollar bills.
3. Set up your bakery. I find that when I set up the pretend play props he plays more, but some children will want to be a part of this and by all means let them.
4. Take some time to go over the basics of the coins or a quick refresher.
5. Put the apron on and start playing.  
6. We didn’t use any amounts that required him giving me the customer  change but for a child who is more advanced with money than my 3 year old, that is an awesome math lesson. We did count out some pennies though.
7. For younger kids you can make is simpler like I did here almost a year ago .
8. When you play pretend with your child let them go off on tangents and tell you about their “character” ask them questions , and play the part. I know for some parents this can be really silly but it helps , the kids get into the lesson and forget they are even learning.

* A great follow up to this would be to go to your local bakery and continue this lesson buy buying a cookie, having your child find the right coins to do so and enjoying it together. Or make some fun Letter C cookies .

Books

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff is a contemporary classic, and if you have ever read it to a group of children you will know why. The story builds as one thing leads to the next when you give into the whims of a silly little mouse! This is a great book to recall and recount with your child, after reading have them retell you what happened by asking ” What happened next?” this is a really easy and important tool in early literacy!

Mmm, Cookies! by Robert Munsch is a loud and silly book, that preschoolers love! The text is perfect for a read aloud encouraging audience participation the way only Munsch can .  The main character loves to play jokes on everybody but doesn’t really understand that they aren’t funny until the joke is on him. This book gives parents a easy going way to talk about practical jokes and when they are and aren’t funny.

Mr. Cookie Baker was an instant hit at our house. The book is about who else, Mr. Cookie Baker and it shows the reader how he makes cookies from scratch, ices them and sells them. It’s a great book to explain baking and bakeries. My son loves the part where Mr. Cookie Baker eats a cookie after a long hard day and then says goodnight. I like the illustrations, they are bold and detailed without being cluttered and can almost tell the story all by themselves. Be warned though reading this will almost definitely make you crave a cookie or two.

My husband commutes into the city everyday and we are left with little family time during the week. So to fit some family fun in we decided to turn dinner time into play time ! My son and I planned the meal, the menu and even met my husband at the door “in character”.  It was a blast! Pretend play is a major part of preschooler’s play and there are ample opportunities to learn or simply connect with your kids within pretend play.

1. Gather your materials.  Grab some paper and a marker to make a menu and get your food cooking! A you can see our menu was kind of spendy! Let your child set the prices.
2. Make some table settings that are appropriate for the restaurant you are pretending to be, for us it was a local fish and chips shop so we gathered up some ketchup, tartar sauce and set the table with the obligatory water.  We rolled our silverware in paper towels and taped it with some paper. 
3. We prepared the bread and butter.
4. Met our customer at the door… that sign is sitting on our Recycled Music Stand we made a while back.
5. Took his order
6. Then I took his order- hey there are no rules to pretend play the waiter eats with the customers at our restaurant.
7. Enjoyed some appetizers and ate our food.
8. Then presented him with our bill.  If you have older siblings this would be a fun part to practice addition, explain taxes etc…

Remember to have fun even if the only time you have to do it is dinner time on a busy weekday!

I don’t plan out my posts much more than a scrap paper or notebook page of brainstorms. This post was not planned at all. My son was under the weather and wouldn’t eat. I knew he needed to eat lunch and when I asked ” If you could have anything what would you eat?” his answer was “A Happy Meal” . I was not taking him to McDonald’s every time he is sick! . So instead we made one at home. Huge , huge success !  He was sick and not at all into doing anything but this would be a fun parent and child activity. I am sure this is a healthier option ( not by much… but it is organic) more importantly it’s a treat at home!

1. Gather your ingredients and materials. You will need a paper bag, some markers, foil, containers, straw..whatever you need to package your food. Don’t forget a toy or prize as well! We played restaurant as well so I grabbed some money and a tray to complete the pretend play.
2. Start by decorating the bag – I wish my son was feeling well enough to do it but instead he told me to make one with fish.
3. Make your food! We made apple slices, chicken nuggets, ranch dip , and milk.
4. Pack your meal up and don’t forget the prize,  I popped some Olympic stickers in for him.
5. Take their order and their money!
6. Dig in!
7. He cleaned his plate and loved the stickers.

Books

Dinner at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson is a great book. I grabbed it only because of the title but found a gem. My son and I both loved it and had a blast reading it. The story is about a restaurant and the people , or rather animals that come into the restaurant in ever enlarging groups. The text is rhyming and well written. My son loved counting each group that came in figuring out after a few that each group was one animal larger. It was a great opportunity to practice one to one correspondence as he counted one each page.  There was also a great message about there always being room for one more when all the chairs were taken and a mouse came knocking wondering if he could eat too!

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jan Yolen is a book all about eating in the popular and well loved series of dinosaur books . My son loves these books, he likes that the dinosaurs always misbehave in such over the top ways before the reality of how they really behave, well mannered , listening to their parents and eating all thier food. What I like about this is that kids relate to the dinosaurs and I have never had one question why the parents are human. I like that children are encouraged to sit still and say please and thank you. What I don’t like is that the dinosaurs are encouraged to clean their plate, never drop anything and try everything put before them. I know some parents will love these rules but for our house it doesn’t work, we don’t encourage plate cleaning or force bites. The book still served a purpose, as my son said loudly ” I’m a boy I don’t have to eat everything, right?” and we had a good talk about eating.