Yesterday we looked at unstructured pretend play. Pretend play is such a huge part of unplugged play. Today the focus is on a structured pretend play scenario.
Kitchen Grocery Store
This is a guest post from Allison of No Time for flashcards
Imaginative play is crucial, it allows your child to test out and use skills they observe all day long. They also learn new words, use math skills , tap into their imagination and so much more. Our grocery store took me 5 minutes to set up and we played with it for ages! Using real food seems to make it extra special, but play food will work just fine.
Gather your materials. You will need some food from your pantry and /or fridge, a cart or basket, a bag to put your purchases in, some play money and something that can be turned into a register. We used a stool, with a plate and some red paper to make a “scanner”.
Get your money and grab a basket!
Start Shopping !
Time to Pay!
Have fun and remember how important play is!
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All children love to be creative. Some of them we have to help them along. Many just can’t help themselves and are eager to dress up or act. There’s no reason to think certain pretend play ideas are just for girls or boys. This is their time to experiment and try out ideas and make sense of the world.
My boys love to dress up in costumes. We have two huge stacks of clothes. Yes we are the family that has a superhero who shops groceries with his mom.
Just like outdoor play and gross motor play, finding time to encourage or allocate time for pretend play isn’t always a priority.
Inspire your children to try some pretend play. As usual push those boundaries only if you’re children are willing and try something different. Or else carve out some pretend play time.
Ideas
Read a story and extend the end of it into their adventure.
Start a pretend story you’re making up complete with actions. Ask them to join in.
Get a favourite toy and use it to start a play scene
Provide a selection of unstructured items ( material, natural objects etc) Invite them to go play and see where it takes them.
Set up an unstructured toy area ( dolls, train set etc)
Join in and extend the play by asking questions” Where should we go” I’m hungry- what shall we eat? Shall we stop? etc
We’ve lived in Colorado now for over a year. Being a military family we’ve lived in a few places. When we did our play audit we noticed we didn’t spend much time or nearly as much time as I’d like or have done in the past outside. Partly it’s the new area; pregnancy & now newborn- but excuses aside I’m looking for some ways to motivate us outside more.
I think this video response is apt for winter.
Don’t get me wrong we do go outside especially to the park and on our bikes…….just not for long. The boys are very active inside. Trying for a little more balance and direct that fantastic energy outside.
What do you do? How do you encourage outside play? Do the kids have to go out everyday?
Ideas
Think about the answers
What gross motor activities do your kids love to do? cycling? scooters? tag? teeter tooters? gardening?
What do they do unstructured play? outdoor toys and equipment?
Do you like walks; going for hikes; trip to the park?
Others???????
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Hi! My name is Amy Anderson. I have a background in elementary education, and currently am a stay-at-home mom of two girls. I am very involved in my daughters’ parent participation preschool and kindergarten classroom. I share many of our creative play and explorations at my blog and offer a variety of creative products to inspire imagination, discovery, and play at my online shop, Let’s Explore. I am very happy to be sharing a really fun and easy project with you today!
My girls and I love to explore painting with a variety of brushes and objects. One of our favorite explorations is with gadgets and tools from the kitchen. So, gather up some washable paint and an assortment of things from the kitchen. Here are some ideas to get you started:
potato masher
whisk
fork
honey dipper
spatula
sponges and scrubbies
bottle brush
cookie cutters
melon baller
chopsticks
Try spreading a thin layer of paint on a paper plate or tray. Your child can then dip a gadget in the paint and make a print on the paper. Some tools, like honey dippers and whisks, are also fun to dip into a cup of paint and then dab and roll on the paper. Experiment!
Most kitchen tools clean-up well afterwards and you can continue using them in the kitchen. However, I also like to keep a box of kitchen gadgets that I don’t use anymore or that I find inexpensively for anytime painting and less worry about clean-up.
Have fun!
Put your thoughts in a blog post and use that link, not your blog, into Mr Linky. We want to go right to your post
Add a comment here as well if you’d like.
Follow the other Operation Playtimers and comment on their #OPT post.
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