It goes without saying that pretend play is immeasurably significant for a child’s development. Multiple studies address the positive impact of this activity on small learners’ literacy, mathematical thinking, and language and scientific skills (“Pretend Play-tulsaworld.com”). At the same time, pretend play contributes to children’s ability to express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings through the arts using tools, words, and media (Office of Early Learning). Using the most suitable pretend play objects, such as blocks, paper, crayons, and clay, children are voluntarily engaged in activities that let them use their imagination at the levels needed for their harmonious development (“Pretend Play-tulsaworld.com”). In addition, through the arts initiated by pretend play, children not only learn how to express their interests, knowledge, and abilities but appreciate the efforts, ways of thinking, and contributions of others, as well.
Pretend play stimulates preschool children’s ability to represent observations, thoughts, experiences, knowledge, and feelings, “verbally or non-verbally, with others using a variety of objects in own environment” (Office of Early Learning). Moreover, they will learn to combine various process-oriented and open-ended art materials with their intention to create in any way they like, without specific tasks or guidelines. And it goes without saying that the results of learning through pretend play should be visible to parents. First of all, they may ask how their children are involved in play, what activities are available, and how long they play independently using their imagination every day. At the same time, pretend play traditionally leaves material objects, including drawings or clay figures, that parents may use in order to evaluate their children’s developmental progress with the help of teachers who may help to interpret the arts.
Works Cited
Office of Early Learning. “Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards. VIII. Creative Expression Through the Arts.” Florida Department of Education, 2017, Web.
“Pretend Play-tulsaworld.com.” YouTube, uploaded by TulsaWorldNews, 2008, Web.