When children play they’re discovering the world around them. Playing on their own and others helps them sort out characters, theories and relationships. Sure, playtime can be boisterous and rambunctious, but it can also be quiet and introspective — it’s important to give your child with the opportunity for the two kinds.
Let us take a peek at how to create opportunities for your child to play creatively and freely in your house.
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1. Provide space. It is tempting to try and control messes by limiting play area to certain corners of the home. But giving kids the freedom and flexibility to spread out and play with abandon can be liberating for them. Utilize cubbies, storage bins and other organizers to keep the clutter under wraps when playtime is done. But every now and then, adopt the chaos!
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2. Create channels for drama. Committed channels for drama can help your child learn as much at home as at school. They foster active learning and invite kids to engage, explore, discover, learn and solve problems on their own. Organize your playroom, living room or kid’s bedroom according to activities: a special spot for toying with building blocks or loose components, a dress-up or art nook, a quiet spot for reading and so forth.
3. Contain materials to create with. Don’t limit your child to simply crayons. Providing a broad array of creative materials without providing specific instructions on how best to use them will enhance your youngster’s creativity. Create a craft corner or put aside a few cubbies on your kitchen for watercolors, markers, crayons, clay, pipe cleaners and more. Of course, use discretion when determining what materials are acceptable for your child’s age or developmental phase. And use your imagination when choosing — the sky’s the limit!
Kelly Donovan
4. Offer role-play and dress-up items. Playing dress-up helps kids make sense of the functions they see performed around them daily by family, teachers and friends. Set aside a special corner and hang fun hats and costumes on a wall for your kids to try on. Supply them with drama with dishes, tools and other real life things for role play.
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5. Nurture problem solving and innovation. Sometimes your kid’s Legos seem as though they’re just a loose assortment of annoying bits to measure on from the hallway or suck up to a vacuum cleaner. However, these very small toys actually go a long way toward helping your child come up with creative solutions to issues. Insert a loose-parts station to your playroom to get those creative juices flowing.
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6. Support multisensory play. Children establish a connection to the world around them by experiencing it through sensory drama. Design your kids ‘ play area with multiple perceptions in mind: tools for playing and hearing music, several textures for touching and lively lighting or art for visual stimulation.
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7. Add complex sizes and shapes. Invite kids to comprehend the relationship between the space around them with different-size play things. A tunnel out of blankets and chairs, a fort built in the living room plus a playhouse made of boxes encourages them to see the world in another light.
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