TEY 13.2

A three-year-old asks you to play, grabs your hand, and excitedly leads you through the classroom towards an activity area. Which would you rather it be? Do you hope they’ll lead you to the outdoor area? Would you prefer to read in the book corner? Do you enjoy the role- play area? Or would you rather get down on your hands and knees to play with trucks and tractors? We all have play preferences, and these develop in early childhood. By the age of one, 90% of children have a favourite object, and although these preferences regularly change, what you SARAH OWEN IS THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF PYJAMA DRAMA A world of pure ima ination Harnessing the learning potential of pretend play needn’t be complicated or expensive, says Sarah Owen... enjoyed playing most as a child is likely to be what you’d also prefer to play now you’re an adult. Of course, no one type of play is more valuable than the other: physical play, social play, constructive play, games with rules – they all help children develop and learn. By the age of three, however, it’s pretend play that’s at its peak, so it’s worth considering how you might facilitate it (even if the idea of “doing drama” with your children feels uncomfortable). And it’s worth knowing that it doesn’t have to be difficult, or restricted to the role-play area. A well-resourced role play area is a rich environment for pretend play, naturally, and it’s not surprising that early years settings put so much effort into creating such spaces complete with both realistic and fantastical props and costumes. But actually (and stay with me here), although props and costumes are great ways to ignite children’s imaginations, they also have the potential to limit them and therefore reduce potential learning outcomes. PLAY WITHOUT LIMITS Allow me to illustrate my point. I’d like you to imagine that we’re going to a fancy dress party together. We go to the biggest costume shop in the world. First of all, decide what or who you’re going to dress up as. You can be anyone or anything – a film star, an opera singer, a character from a book, a banana, or an elf. Any costume your heart desires is waiting for you. Now you’ve chosen, pick the costume off the rail and put it on. This shop has an enormous mirror; take a look at yourself. What does your costume look like? What colour is it? What material is it made from? Is it soft, scratchy, heavy, or floaty? Does your costume come with accessories or props? Maybe a hat, some glasses, a wand, or a bag? Are you wearing shoes, boots, gladiator sandals, or flippers? Try to imagine your costume in as much detail as possible. Finally, how does wearing this costume make you feel? Powerful, brave, glamorous, beautiful, or something else? If we compared costumes, you can bet your bottom dollar they wouldn’t be the same. (In case you’re interested, I’m going as Cookie Monster. I feel mischievous and my costume is blue, fluffy, tickly, and comes with a jar of cookies!) Even if we did by chance decide to go as the same character – let’s say a princess, because we know how popular a choice that is! – do you think our costumes would look identical? No. Because what I imagine is never going to be the same as what you imagine. 16 Teachearlyyears.com