Pretend play is one of the most beneficial and complex forms of play that promotes a myriad of children's development. Children's engagement in pretend play can be influenced by their genders, age, material or toys available, and adults' support. Pretend play has been long studied globally, however, there is still a dearth of available information…

Research suggests that metacommunication in young children's social pretend play is the most complex form of cooperation. In this study, metacommunication was examined using audio and video recordings during pretend play. Participants were 24 children in kindergarten average age 5.1 years. Utterances were coded for metacommunication, the narrative…

This research utilised a "stimulated recall" methodology [Calderhead, J. 1981. "Stimulated Recall: A Method for Research on Teaching." "British Journal of Educational Psychology" 51: 211-217] to explore the potential of African folklore, specifically Ghanaian folk stories in the development of children's reflective…

This study explores children's narratives of their curiosity and imagination through innovative use of an information technology app--Our Story. Novel use of the app allowed children to express and record their opinions they considered significant to them. The research captured children's approaches to everyday situations through their play.…

The main characteristic of children's play is its mental aspect--the fact that it is based on thoughts and feelings and not on objective reality. During imaginary play, children go beyond the limits of reality, and toys are tools that help them to do this. Children need character toys--toys that play the role of companion or partner--in the early…

Drawing on existing work in the area of creativity and early years education, this paper maps the process of an exploratory study which sought to identify what characterizes "possibility thinking" as an aspect of creativity in young children's learning. With the aim of developing a framework for identifying "possibility…