Learning to Play at The Vine Preschool

Learning to Play at The Vine Preschool

Learning to play at The Vine Preschool is both educational and fun.

Dramatic Play/Pretend Play-In the early years, children are just beginning to understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Imaginative play and acting out both familiar characters (such as family members) and fictional ones helps children internalize this important distinction.

For example, your child can grasp the difference between her real mommy and the mommy she sometimes pretends to be when playing house. She will then apply that experiential knowledge to other situations. Your child also builds vocabulary when she engages in pretend play. Teachers such as myself can introduce theme-specific words. For example, if your child loves to play with her toy dinosaurs, she will quickly learn the very big words for their names if you point them out.

Our Thinkers and Problem Solvers (age 3-5) are well into this development.

Pretend Play at Home

Often children like to pretend to do the things that you do around the house. Consider providing magazines, books, paper, and pencils to her collection of dramatic play props at home. Your child will be using pre-reading and pre-writing skills to mimic real-life situations. For example, she can “read” to her dolls and stuffed toys, “write” letters, make lists, and even pretend to take telephone messages with a toy phone! Pretend play provides your child with a variety of problems to solve.

Whether it’s two children wanting to play the same role or searching for the just right material to make a roof for the playhouse, your child calls upon important cognitive thinking skills that he will use in every aspect of his life, now and forever.

Feel free to schedule a tour at our Alexandria Preschool.