While the imaginative play ideas below can help you kick off some amazing games of pretend with your kids, it\u2019s important to avoid imposing your own idea of what the game should be on them. If your kids say the rug you bought for an imaginary picnic is a patch of deadly quicksand, go with it \u2013 and start looking for a branch to pull them out!<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Invent a game decide on a few rules and try it out \u2013 e.g. Spook-a-look.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Put on a performance. It\u2019s the ultimate improv exercise: using whatever props you have to hand (sheets, throws, jackets, puppets, dolls, action figures, hairbrushes, boxes can all help), act out a play\/song with your child.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Cook an imaginary meal. Children love to act out the ordinary things their parents do. Help your little one get into the role of future chef by laying out cooking equipment, \u201cingredients\u201d, or even a drawn-out hob for them to play with. Let them serve you up a meal, and prepare to pretend that mud pie is your favourite.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Throw picnics and tea parties. Bad weather outside? No problem. Set up your own indoor picnic with a picnic rug, your child\u2019s favourite toys and a few kitchen-related props. Remember: pinkies up at all times, and never fail to ask whether Teddy would like more tea or cake. Etiquette matters.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Play super heroes. Don a cape or choose an action figure and embark on the greatest fight between good and evil that the world has ever seen. It\u2019s even more fun if you play the villain and let your child defeat you. Perfect your \u201cI\u2019m meeeellllltiiiing\u201d speech, and remember that you would have gotten away with it, too \u2013 if it weren\u2019t for those pesky kids . . .<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Turn a box into . . . anything. One of the best things about imaginative play is that you don\u2019t need any special props to do it. For example, an ordinary large-ish cardboard box can become a house, a car or an aeroplane. Flatten it out, and you have a desert island. Give your little one a few boxes and watch for a bit to see what they do. Jump in once they\u2019ve decided what the game is going to be.<\/p>\n
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\u00b7 Plant up a (fake) garden. They might only be cardboard cutouts of flowers and imaginary vegetable patches, but your child can still have fun watering, weeding and looking after them. All the fun of a real garden, with none of the risk.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Build a city. Toys like Lego and building blocks can be useful props for this game. Help your little one build a metropolis, then run the town together.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Clean the house. Ever turned around after doing a household chore, only to find a little helper copying you? Kids are often strangely fascinated by housework. The next time you\u2019re vacuuming or mopping the floor, give your child a prop so they can follow you around the house and take part.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Run a shop. If your child owned a shop, what would they sell? Help your child stock their shop\u2019s cupboards, pretend to be a series of customers, and use (fake) money to buy their wares.<\/p>\n
Ideas from https:\/\/www.persil.com\/uk\/dirt-is-good\/real-play\/what-is-imaginative-play.html<\/a><\/p>\n Remember, the benefits of imaginative play can extend to you too \u2014 so connect with your inner child and lose yourself in a world of imagination.<\/p>\n Written by Carol Munro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Monday 18th May I have lots of cousins by lots I mean there are 14 of us and as children we often hung out together at my Grandma\u2019s house. One of our favourite things to do was create shows precariously balancing on my Grandma\u2019s windowsill we would jump down from behind the curtains and burst … Continue reading Monday 18th May. The Power of Imagination.<\/span>