Make-Believe: Games & Activities for Imaginative Play

by Dorothy Singer

$22.06

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Author: Dorothy Singer

Publisher: Magination Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 9781557987174
ISBN 13: 978-1557987174

This lively how-to guide contains more than 100 activities and games that parents, teachers, and other adults can use to stimulate the imagination and sense of play in children between the ages of 2 and 5. Along with these games, the authors describe the importance of imaginative play during the early years, including its contribution to happiness and self-confidence, and its vital role in the development of cognitive, emotional, social, creative, and physical skills.

From the Introduction:

Both parents and teachers will find that the games in this book can help children learn how to expand their imaginations. Children with a repertoire of make-believe play skills are more self-reliant and demand less of your time as they follow their own creative direction with a game, embellishing it with details and making up new variations. The general benefits of imaginative play are discussed in chapter 1, "What Make-Believe Can Do for Children," and the specific benefits of focused activity areas, such as motor, sensory, and role-playing, are presented at the beginning of each activity chapter.

From School Library Journal

This book takes a rather scholarly and extensive look at a part of children's lives that would appear to be instinctive: make-believe. To achieve their stated intent to "suggest ways in which parents and teachers can foster play skills," the authors offer many adult-directed activities that will not only encourage imaginative play but also foster such areas as creativity and cognitive, motor, sensory, and social skills. A table in the front of the book links specific chapters with the development of these skills. Some suggested activities enhance the senses: smelling, tasting, hearing. Other games teach children about the different people in their neighborhood or town. These activities would work well in a classroom setting but might have mixed results at home. The layout makes this book ideal for browsing, with many boxed inserts, illustrations, and color photos attractively laid out with lots of white space. While the idea of taking what would seem to be natural and analyzing it beyond all measure may be a turn off to some adults, teachers, counselors, and other group leaders should find many helpful suggestions here for encouraging and channeling creative play.

Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY

Review

"To achieve their stated intent to "suggest ways in which parents and teachers can foster play skills," the authors offer many adult-directed activities that will not only encourage imaginative play but also foster such areas as creativity and cognitive, motor, sensory, and social skills....These activities would work well in a classroom setting....The layout makes this book ideal for browsing, with many boxed inserts, illustrations, and color photos attractively laid out with lots of white space.....teachers, counselors, and other group leaders should find many helpful suggestions here for encouraging and channeling creative play."—School Library Journal

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Make-Believe: Games & Activities for Imaginative Play