Show and Tell: Imaginext Play Sets

In the world of toys, it seems that it is a little harder to find good toys for boys that encourage a lot of pretend play and imagination. I started my career working with adults, and it wasn't until I started specializing in working with kids that I realized how important pretend play is. There are so many skills that come from pretend play. Coming up with ideas and being able to express them to others, having abstract thinking, taking on someone else's perspective, learning about emotions, learning about what motivates people to do certain things (figuring out the 'why'), thinking outside of yourself, social problem solving, etc., etc.

Last year I had a friend donate a bunch of toys to my practice, and some of my favorites have been the imaginext play sets. They have also been the favorite of my class full of boys. It's so fun when toys that bring on the imagination bring kids together and play scenarios are created. I loved just sitting back and watching the magic unfold as kids who rarely interacted with others joined the play.

Here are some of the Imaginext play sets. If anything it can give you some ideas of some pretend play scenarios you can build with your kids (even if you don't have the play set).

• Batman
• Superman
• Pirates
• Space shuttle
• Castle
• Wizards
• Firemen
• Monsters

For other pretend play ideas, you can check out of my Pretend Play Amazon Affiliate site, it's kind of a work in progress (meaning I just add things randomly, usually while I'm blogging, so I can show pictures of what I'm talking about). In case you don't want to scroll through all of it, here's kind of a breakdown. 

• Pages 1-4: Puppets
• Pages 4-8: Dress up
• Pages 9-15: Kitchen/Home/Store/Work
• Pages 16-17: Imaginext

In the world of toys, it seems that it is a little harder to find good toys for boys that encourage a lot of pretend play and imagination. I started my career working with adults, and it wasn't until I started specializing in working with kids that I realized how important pretend play is. There are so many skills that come from pretend play. Coming up with ideas and being able to express them to others, having abstract thinking, taking on someone else's perspective, learning about emotions, learning about what motivates people to do certain things (figuring out the 'why'), thinking outside of yourself, social problem solving, etc., etc.

Last year I had a friend donate a bunch of toys to my practice, and some of my favorites have been the imaginext play sets. They have also been the favorite of my class full of boys. It's so fun when toys that bring on the imagination bring kids together and play scenarios are created. I loved just sitting back and watching the magic unfold as kids who rarely interacted with others joined the play.

Here are some of the Imaginext play sets. If anything it can give you some ideas of some pretend play scenarios you can build with your kids (even if you don't have the play set).

• Batman
• Superman
• Pirates
• Space shuttle
• Castle
• Wizards
• Firemen
• Monsters

For other pretend play ideas, you can check out of my Pretend Play Amazon Affiliate site, it's kind of a work in progress (meaning I just add things randomly, usually while I'm blogging, so I can show pictures of what I'm talking about). In case you don't want to scroll through all of it, here's kind of a breakdown. 

• Pages 1-4: Puppets
• Pages 4-8: Dress up
• Pages 9-15: Kitchen/Home/Store/Work
• Pages 16-17: Imaginext

Counting Activity--Fighting Fires

My students loved this counting activity.  As we were preparing for the fire department to come to our school for an assembly we all practiced our firefighter skills.

Thanks to the father of one of my past students and the Salt Lake Fire Department, each one of my students (actually every student in our school) had a fire hat.  I made "fire extinguishers" out of empty water bottles covered in red paper, and I printed out "fires" and hung them throughout the hallway.  Each paper had a different number of flames on it that the kids would have to count.

We did this activity two different days.  The first day I had cards printed out with written numerals.  The kids would be at the "fire station" which was a designated place in the hall, and I would show them the number.  They would then have to go find the corresponding fire and put it out with their "fire extinguishers."  

The second time we did it, I had cards with flames on it, then the kids had to count those flames and find the matching flames in the hall.  That way they had to count more than once.  

Here are a few reasons why I loved this activity

• It was engaging, the kids loved it
• Math skills
• We worked on counting with one to one correspondence
• We worked on matching objects with written numerals
• Fine Motor
• Squeezing the spray bottles
• Thematic Play
• The kids were pretending they were fire fighters
• Teamwork
• When the kids would find the correct fire, they would call out to the others
• Turn taking
• The kids would take turns "spraying" the fire

My students loved this counting activity.  As we were preparing for the fire department to come to our school for an assembly we all practiced our firefighter skills.

Thanks to the father of one of my past students and the Salt Lake Fire Department, each one of my students (actually every student in our school) had a fire hat.  I made "fire extinguishers" out of empty water bottles covered in red paper, and I printed out "fires" and hung them throughout the hallway.  Each paper had a different number of flames on it that the kids would have to count.

We did this activity two different days.  The first day I had cards printed out with written numerals.  The kids would be at the "fire station" which was a designated place in the hall, and I would show them the number.  They would then have to go find the corresponding fire and put it out with their "fire extinguishers."  

The second time we did it, I had cards with flames on it, then the kids had to count those flames and find the matching flames in the hall.  That way they had to count more than once.  

Here are a few reasons why I loved this activity

• It was engaging, the kids loved it
• Math skills
• We worked on counting with one to one correspondence
• We worked on matching objects with written numerals
• Fine Motor
• Squeezing the spray bottles
• Thematic Play
• The kids were pretending they were fire fighters
• Teamwork
• When the kids would find the correct fire, they would call out to the others
• Turn taking
• The kids would take turns "spraying" the fire

Show and Tell--Play Food

PLAY FOOD

There are so many reasons why play food is great.  First it's something that the child has hopefully seen and possibly experienced first hand.  We're talking imitation skills here.  Because a child usually has first hand experience watching his mom (or dad) prepare food, he/she is able to have an idea of what to do with this food.  This is where pretend comes in.  First it will just be imitating the motor actions, but then it can turn into thematic play.

This particular food is great because it also incorporates fine motor skills.

So here's my list of things to do with play food in random order (aka, however it comes to my mind)

• Have a picnic
• Feed stuffed animals or puppets
• Play the "like it"/"don't like it" game.  Make funny faces as your child "feeds" you, and over exaggerate when you like it or don't like it.  Then do the same thing with the puppets
• Match the pieces of food that go together
• Match the food to pictures of the food
• Categorize the food
• Cut the food and prepare a meal
• Be a waiter and take the child's order or vice versa
• Make a stew
• Set the table before you eat
• Have a tea party
• Plant the food in a sandbox or sensory table

PLAY FOOD

There are so many reasons why play food is great.  First it's something that the child has hopefully seen and possibly experienced first hand.  We're talking imitation skills here.  Because a child usually has first hand experience watching his mom (or dad) prepare food, he/she is able to have an idea of what to do with this food.  This is where pretend comes in.  First it will just be imitating the motor actions, but then it can turn into thematic play.

This particular food is great because it also incorporates fine motor skills.

So here's my list of things to do with play food in random order (aka, however it comes to my mind)

• Have a picnic
• Feed stuffed animals or puppets
• Play the "like it"/"don't like it" game.  Make funny faces as your child "feeds" you, and over exaggerate when you like it or don't like it.  Then do the same thing with the puppets
• Match the pieces of food that go together
• Match the food to pictures of the food
• Categorize the food
• Cut the food and prepare a meal
• Be a waiter and take the child's order or vice versa
• Make a stew
• Set the table before you eat
• Have a tea party
• Plant the food in a sandbox or sensory table

Show And Tell Friday-Puppets

Today for my show and tell, I would like to share with you the wonderful world of puppets.  You can really find puppets anywhere, as you already know.  Here is a link to my amazon picks where you will find many different puppets.

Maybe your child has never shown an interest in pretend play, and maybe your child loves to use his/her imagination during play.  Either way, puppets are great for everyone.

I'm sure you can think of ways that puppets can be used in pretend play, so I want to focus on bringing in puppets and pretend play when your child has no interest.

It's important to learn how to play at your child's level, and to essentially follow his/her lead.  When you play too high or too low, developmental progress may be slower.  If you can figure out what your child's intentions are, and you learn to play at his/her level, you will find greater progress.

If you try to make your child participate in thematic play where the puppets have a role to play, and you have a whole story that you are following, you may lose them if they are at a sensory play level.

If your child is at a sensory level of play, think of the activities you already play and that they enjoy, and then just have the puppet be present.  Here are some examples:

Tickling.  Have the puppet tickle them instead of you.  You're in essence playing the same game, it's just that you have a puppet on your hand.  The puppet can talk, but don't have the puppet ask too many questions if your child is not ready for that.

Chase: Have the puppet do the chasing, or have the puppet act scared when it is being chased.

Peek-a-boo/Hide and Seek: Once again, replace yourself with the puppet.

Music: Have the puppet sing songs or do actions instead of you.

You get the idea.  The puppet just becomes another participant in the activities your child already loves.  The child is usually not the one with the puppet at this stage, but he/she is learning about things the puppet can do.  You are modeling for them.  When the pretend transfers over to the child (rather than you always being the puppet) you will find this is a good exercise for theory of mind.

I love puppets because they can be used at all stages of play, and as the child learns and grows, the puppets will too :)

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children with Autism

Today for my show and tell, I would like to share with you the wonderful world of puppets.  You can really find puppets anywhere, as you already know.  Here is a link to my amazon picks where you will find many different puppets.

Maybe your child has never shown an interest in pretend play, and maybe your child loves to use his/her imagination during play.  Either way, puppets are great for everyone.

I'm sure you can think of ways that puppets can be used in pretend play, so I want to focus on bringing in puppets and pretend play when your child has no interest.

It's important to learn how to play at your child's level, and to essentially follow his/her lead.  When you play too high or too low, developmental progress may be slower.  If you can figure out what your child's intentions are, and you learn to play at his/her level, you will find greater progress.

If you try to make your child participate in thematic play where the puppets have a role to play, and you have a whole story that you are following, you may lose them if they are at a sensory play level.

If your child is at a sensory level of play, think of the activities you already play and that they enjoy, and then just have the puppet be present.  Here are some examples:

Tickling.  Have the puppet tickle them instead of you.  You're in essence playing the same game, it's just that you have a puppet on your hand.  The puppet can talk, but don't have the puppet ask too many questions if your child is not ready for that.

Chase: Have the puppet do the chasing, or have the puppet act scared when it is being chased.

Peek-a-boo/Hide and Seek: Once again, replace yourself with the puppet.

Music: Have the puppet sing songs or do actions instead of you.

You get the idea.  The puppet just becomes another participant in the activities your child already loves.  The child is usually not the one with the puppet at this stage, but he/she is learning about things the puppet can do.  You are modeling for them.  When the pretend transfers over to the child (rather than you always being the puppet) you will find this is a good exercise for theory of mind.

I love puppets because they can be used at all stages of play, and as the child learns and grows, the puppets will too :)

Joy Mano
Utah PLAY Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children with Autism

Theory of Mind and Autism

photo credit: Olaf_S via photopin cc

When I was first learning about Theory of Mind, I was told a little scenario to help me understand.  It went something like this.

Two children are in a room with an adult.  The adult puts a teddy bear in a red box.  Child 1 leaves the room.  Child 2 watches the adult move the teddy bear from the red box to a green box.  Where will Child 1 think the teddy bear is?

A young child (usually 0-3 yrs old) will say that Child 1 will think that the bear is in the green box because they know that's where it is.  A child who has developed theory of mind will know that Child 1 will still think that the bear is in the red box because Child 1 did not see the adult move the bear.

Children with autism, oftentimes have a very difficult time with Theory of Mind.  This is one of the reasons that participating in pretend play, and talking about emotions and feelings is important for children.  However, developmentally, a child needs to be ready to participate in pretend play...trying to get a child to participate in pretend when they are not at that functional developmental level yet,  will not be beneficial.

Here is an article that I enjoyed about Theory of Mind.

Joy Mano
Utah P.L.A.Y. Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism

photo credit: Olaf_S via photopin cc

When I was first learning about Theory of Mind, I was told a little scenario to help me understand.  It went something like this.

Two children are in a room with an adult.  The adult puts a teddy bear in a red box.  Child 1 leaves the room.  Child 2 watches the adult move the teddy bear from the red box to a green box.  Where will Child 1 think the teddy bear is?

A young child (usually 0-3 yrs old) will say that Child 1 will think that the bear is in the green box because they know that's where it is.  A child who has developed theory of mind will know that Child 1 will still think that the bear is in the red box because Child 1 did not see the adult move the bear.

Children with autism, oftentimes have a very difficult time with Theory of Mind.  This is one of the reasons that participating in pretend play, and talking about emotions and feelings is important for children.  However, developmentally, a child needs to be ready to participate in pretend play...trying to get a child to participate in pretend when they are not at that functional developmental level yet,  will not be beneficial.

Here is an article that I enjoyed about Theory of Mind.

Joy Mano
Utah P.L.A.Y. Project Home Consultant
Early Intervention Treatment for Children With Autism