DON’T FORGET TO PICK UP YOUR TAKE HOME CRAFTS FOR THE WEEK!

This week you will be making stories and playing pretend with 6 different Story Cubes! No matter what your child’s age is, story cubes will undoubtedly bring fun and imagination!

Get more ideas and story inspiration from https://www.imagineforest.com/ 

This week we are learning about imagination!

For Storytime we read, “Peg Leg Peke” by Brie Spangler, and “Henry’s Amazing Imagination” by Nancy Carlson.

Play is enormously important to early childhood learning, and dramatic play helps children develop a deeper understanding of the stories they act out as well as the people or creatures they pretend to be.  And these are only a few of the early literacy benefits of playing pretend!  Learn more about the benefits here: 5 Reasons Dramatic Play Matters for Child Development

Here are some more ideas to encourage pretend play and spark your child’s imagination:

• Check out this link for your little library lover! You can print out everything your child needs to pretend they are a librarian! Be sure and stop by our library so we can get you set up with some real books to go along with your pretend library day!

http://learncreatelove.com/pretend-play-set-library/

• All children love “dress-up”. Check out your local thrift stores and yard sales for Halloween costumes. Buy them up when they go on sale after Halloween. Let your kiddos explore being police officers, dragons, doctors, and astronauts!
• Use boxes to create new worlds or turn your child into a robot!
• You don’t have to have a fancy play kitchen to pretend. Grab some plastic cups and plates and let your child “cook” up an amazing meal! Pretend you are at a restaurant and let them “wait” on you. Leave some Monopoly money as a tip!

Don’t forget to join in on the fun sometimes. Research has shown that when parents or caregivers join in pretend play it deepens bonds and helps the child expand vocabulary, strengthen problem-solving skills, and promotes empathy. Plus, it can be really fun!