Series Part #5: Pretend Play Can Help Get Ready for Kindergarten
The imagination is a powerful tool and we can use it along with pretend play to help children get ready for starting kindergarten. Before school begins, kids can play they are going to kindergarten right at home. Stuffies, dolls, and grownups can be recruited to be part of the pretend play and the play will give us clues about a child’s concerns. Adults can watch or participate by taking on the role of the teacher or another student.
During play time, we can see what a child thinks happens at kindergarten, almost as if we can see inside their thoughts. What happens if a child needs to go to the bathroom? Do kids get to have snack if they are hungry? What about if they miss their moms and dads? The words the kids use for the pretend students will echo their feelings and emotions. As children pretend, even though the action is only taking part in their brains, their bodies respond. When children pretend they are going up in an elevator all the way to the sky, their eyes go up. When they pretend they are flying, the muscles in the arms move. We can read children’s body language to see if they are closed in and anxious about starting kindergarten, or eager and open. Pretend play can help children cope with stress and fears. Kids can imagine different scenarios and try out possible solutions,
Pretending and imagining do not end with childhood, that’s where they begin! Just like other skills and abilities they get better with practice. While pretending and imagining are necessary for fantasy, they are also important in reality. As a parent, have you ever asked your child something like “What might happen if you just run without looking?” We ask the child to imagine what could happen so s/he does not do that again. Also, when we ask kids how they might feel if someone grabs a toy away, kids again need to use their imaginations. Both safety and empathy need imagination and pretending. Not only can they help kids cope with the upcoming adventure of kindergarten, they are valuable thinking and learning strategies too.
For a play-of-the-day, can you and your child pretend kindergarten?