Pretend play & Preschoolers!

Parenting Tip: Play 'dress up,' and pretend with your preschooler!

Why?

Pretend play is the ability to transform objects and actions symbolically.  If you watch the pretend play of young children, you will see that they are learning about the real world around them by exploring imaginary situations. 

Children use pretend play to practice and explore what is and isn't possible.  Pretend play gives children the opportunity to try out their ideas and solve problems as they create the characters and rules of their world. 

From a musical standpoint, children are using the same creative thinking skills they will need for future musical improvisation and composition.  Being encouraged to share their ideas during pretend play will help them to be confident in sharing their musical ideas, as well. 

 

How?

Read the e-book, Rupert, the Wrong Word Pirate, with your child!  Follow the silly story of Captain Rupert, who is constantly getting his words mixed up.  This is a fun book to explore rhyming words, with your child (did the Captain really tell his crew to put on their pirate CATS???) 

 Enjoy some pretend play, with your child - need ideas?  Ahoy, There!  Check out this video to get started. 

Want to have your own costume ball, at home?  Find fun items around the house, for dress up.  Then, cue up some royal ball music (like the Sonata in F, from Kindermusik's Make Believe CD) and bow, curtsy, & waltz with your family!

 

Want to Learn More?

On our blog:  Read about the importance of play to your child's development, in Science in the Shower.

 

Kindermusik 7-Year Continuum:

As a baby, every day was full of new things to discover, for your child.  You moved and guided her through each Kindermusik class, and watched her facial expressions & body language, as she experienced each new instrument and activity.  As a Kindermusik toddler, your child learned to imitate you, and others (like the dog in Walk Along, Rover!), in playful pretending games.  Now, as a preschooler, he can take all of those experiences, and blend them with his own unique imagination, to listen to dancing advice from puppets, or build a pirate ship out of a blanket, or look for things out on the sea, by looking through hair-curler 'binoculars.'  In Young Child classes, Kindermusik kids take their creativity and use it to inform their music making.  (Is this song quiet, loud, sad, happy?  This song is about the wind – how can my glockenspiel sound windy?)