IMAGINATIVE PLAY

 

What is Imaginative Play?

Imaginative play is very important in encouraging children’s language development. Early imaginative play begins through imitating familiar events such as drinking from an empty cup. The child will move on by continuing to imitate everyday activities and starting to recognise that dolls and teddies represent people, for example when Mum baths the baby, the child baths the doll. The child will then begin to recognise miniature ‘small world’ toys such as a doll’s house. The child will begin to engage in ‘make believe’ play involving invented people or objects, for example playing ‘schools’, pretending to be a superhero or pretending an empty box is a spaceship.

 

Stage 1:

Explore a range of everyday items. Carry out real life scenarios and model how to ‘pretend’ with the real objects. The adult can model this, for example pretending to drink from the child’s empty cup, pretending to open the door with a key.

 

Stage 2:

Introduce a teddy, doll or favourite character toy into the pretend play with familiar objects, such as giving the teddy a drink, washing the doll etc

 

Stage 3:

Expand on your child’s pretend play by encouraging them to copy sequences of everyday events, such as brushing the doll’s teeth, putting pyjamas on and putting them to bed.

 

Stage 4:

The child will begin to understand that miniature objects relate to real objects. Encourage a range of small world play such as playing with cars and a garage, trains and doll’s houses.

 

Stage 5:

The child will start to explore make believe play and take on the role of others, for example pretending to be a superhero or a teacher. Encourage dressing up and real life props to support this. At this stage children learn to pretend an object is something else (symbolic play), e.g. pretending a box is a boat.