Play Pretend

© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.

Toddlers love to play pretend. Collect used dress-up clothes and props and store them in large bins for toddlers to pull out over and over again. Encourage children to pretend to be grown-ups, storybook characters, or animals, and to act out scenarios that they have experienced or learned about. Here are a few ideas:

• Have a family member bring in photos of a family event. Ask them to include or suggest a small prop that might remind their toddler of a family member or event in the photo, for example, a scarf like Grandma’s or a special pan used to cook holiday treats.
  • Talk about a photo with one or two toddlers.
  • Encourage them to use the dress up with props and pretend to be one of the adults in the photo. Ask questions and play along to add to the fun.
  • Place the photos where children can visit them over and over again.
• Read a favorite story with two or three toddlers. Help them act out being a character in one of the events in the story or have them make up their own events.
• Have a toddler pretend play a familiar routine with you. For example, he might take you to the library like his Grandpa does each week for him. You may want to have a family member tell you a routine beforehand.

As toddlers become more adept pretenders, help them add more words and actions and encourage longer, richer stories. You can do this by offering props, modeling dialog, and playing a role yourself.