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I love spending time with my boys in the park, baking, reading stories or doing puzzles. But the one thing I really struggle with is imaginative play. It has taken literally years of practice to reach a stage where I can comfortably do those kinds of games, but now it is second nature. With Christmas around the corner I have got some tips and tricks for exploring imaginative play with your kids, as well some ideas for brilliant presents for kids that will help kick start some imagination in your home.
At What Age Do You Start Imaginative Play?
Right away! There is no such thing as being too old for imaginative play, or too old for that matter. As soon as your baby is starting to interact you can engage with them using your imagination. Hold make believe conversations on toy phones, tuck dolls and teddy’s into bed alongside your baby and feed them. You’ll soon find that your little one will copy what you’re doing!
Examples of Imaginative Play
Copying Mum And Dad – Kids see just about everything, and they’re usually pretty quick to copy it. The most common place for them to start is act like mum or dad with their toys. That might be pushing a baby round in it’s pram, tucking in their teddies at night or serving up imaginary tea. Playing house is nothing new and it will certainly never go out of fashion.
Small World Play – Many kids love using action figures or toys to recreate scenes from books, tv or simply something they’ve come up with in their head. Using play sets, little characters and simple every day objects you can soon find that a superhero is saving the day right there on your living room floor.
Job-Based Role Play – Doctors and nurses, builders, policemen, firemen and builders all have one thing in common. Kids LOVE to pretend to be them. Recreating these roles at home is a great way to use their imagination to fix imaginary problems and act out a range of emotions.
Gift Ideas To Encourage Imaginative Play
Fort Making Kit – The beauty of a fort making kit is that it can be turned into and endless amount of things. It might be your house, a shop, a secret hideout or more. The ability to make it into the shape you want easily makes it super versatile – and a lot of fun!
Magnetic Animals – Most kids love animals from a young age, so engage in some early imaginative with these magnetic animals. They can be on a zoo, wild out on a safari or creating their own animal city. You can even mix and match the animals to create your own wild animal hybrids.
Head Torch – Be explorers in the jungle, venture deep into a cave or be spies on a mission. A head torch is a great accessory that they can use in many situations for a bit of role play.
Construction Scenes – Make bath time more fun with a floating Construct & Build set. A road and construction scene complete with road signs, water squirters, a digger and a roller, for opening up the world of imaginary construction.
Rocket Design And Drill – Let your little astronaut explore outer space with a rocket design and drill. Start by practicing some fine motor skills and problem solving by building the rocket, and then blast into space with the mini astronaut and space dog for the next mission.
Space Kitchen – A toy kitchen for role play is ideal, but not everyone has the space for one at home. This space kitchen comes with 10 tin pieces all painted in cute space designs. It packs away into a carry case, that doubles as a hob for cooking up some imaginary lunch.
This post was sponsored by Wicked Uncle
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These are amazing! Thanks for sharing. I really love the space kitchen.