I have witnessed oodles of imaginative designs in the hands of five and six year olds over the past eighteen years as kindergartners brainstormed ideas (often propelled by favorite stories read in class or thematic connections) for our pretend play area. Pretend play, widely popular with our inventive, resourceful, and imaginative kindergarten classes, engages children in deeply meaningful and rich language experiences.
A fairyland has emerged where once stood the ever-popular Secret Agent Underground Lab. Hand-made vines, turrets, curtains, mobiles, murals, silk flowers, tree stump tables, magic beans, glass jewels, seashell plates, rocks and sticks for a campfire, chimes, paper crowns, and gems have replaced the gently-used cell phones, clipboards, pens and pencils, sunglasses, play money, hats and suits, binoculars, and magnifying lenses of the previous pretend play prop boxes. One day a princess found treasure: hand-drawn $110 bills on green paper "magically appeared," she said. Another day pets came to play in fairyland and enjoyed the bean soup simmering on the campfire. Often I find children dressing in long brightly covered scarves, exchanging ideas in front of the mirror: "Let's pretend that..." says one. "Ok and then how about we pretend that..." replies the other. A few children have already begun dreaming about re-creating our indoor Fairyland outdoors in the the spring time.
A few photos from the creation of Fairyland follow:
