Pretend Play Plus Sensory Play = FUN!

Pretend Play Plus Sensory Play = FUN!

Combining pretend play with sensory exploration is loads of fun.  We love to add pretend props to mix up sensory activities.  Today, the dried beans were “cooked” on the cardboard stove top and mini bean muffins were “baked” inside the oven.  As children get older they can expand their play repertoire and you can help by adding […]

Pretend Play Makes Better Thinkers

Pretend Play Makes Better Thinkers

Recent research from the University of California Berkeley indicated that children who were better at pretend play were better at thinking about different possibilities.  By imagining the way things will work, children try to predict if what they are doing will work.  Then when done pretending they can compare their results to real life experiences.  […]

Freebie Playing Laundry Shop Printables

Print these two free fun pages to play pretend laundromat.  This is a functional pretend play activity.  A child can work on sorting and counting laundry while using their imagination to open up a “laundromat”.  You can download the pages at GrowingPlay. This activity encourages: pretend play imagination literacy math skills writing skills functional skills […]

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Birthday Claycakes

Children love to play pretend birthday party.  To start off this pretend party we needed to make the birthday “cupcakes”.  I set out a tray with some play dough, cut up straws, beads, cotton balls and cupcake liners. After rolling the cupcakes into balls, we placed them into the cupcake liners and they were ready […]

DIY Pirate Swords

This is a great way to make pretend foam swords.  I made these years ago for my son’s birthday party and they still get tons of play time.  Now I know you can buy foam swords in the dollar store but they are not nearly as good as these.  These homemade swords are much longer, […]

Tiny Treasures

If your children enjoy playing doll house or any type of pretend play with figures you have to check out this website where the creator offers loads a tiny accessories to print and create.  The creating part is definitely for adult fingers.  It is tedious to work with such small pieces of paper with lots […]