Pretend play is often undervalued and ignored. This videotape and accompanying booklet highlight how the dramatic scenarios, microworlds, storytelling, and block building of pretend play provide young children the opportunity to develop skills for a lifetime of intellectual, social, emotional, and creative development. The booklet describes the…

This booklet discusses the importance of pretend play in the education of young children in Australia. The booklet notes that pretend, or socio-dramatic, play is characterized by imitative role playing, make-believe objects and situations, persistence, interaction, and verbal communication. Pretend play can appear as early as age 2 and peaks at…

Discusses the value of tool-use activities to help toddlers develop emerging skills, experience creative expression, and understand means-end relationships. Provides examples of opportunities for using objects as tools, including language acquisition, self-help activities, dramatic play, sensory experiences, and object manipulation. (DST)