31 Days of Play! Pretending!

Cutting fruit!

It's actually a bit surprising that I committed to writing about play all month, as I have some real hang-ups about it. I think they mostly stem from the fact that I always wanted to be around the adults when I was a kid.  Don't get me wrong, I played my fair share of Barbies and spent hours outside playing with the neighborhood kids, but there's something stuck in my mind that makes me fear I may be really bad at playing with my little Beansprout.  Of course, at this point in the game, there are days when it IS really hard to play with him - it's pretty repetitious and limited most of the time.  All that being said, I really try - I try to stay focused and try to remember that if I let him take (most of) the lead, all of those fears will fade.  One of my favorite things to play with him is pretend!  Because it doesn't require a lot of imagination, pretending has been a great way to ease me into this whole world of play.  We pretend to do things that Beansprout sees us do all the time!  I think this is what I love about pretend play so much - I love to see what he sees.  He'll "talk" on the phone and just start laughing, he loves to "vacuum" (even has his own!), and will laugh himself silly pretending to shoo flies!  My absolute favorite pretend game right now actually started in May --- he takes his basket, says "bye-bye", walks out of sight to the garage door, and then "comes home"!  The game is made extra sweet by the fact that he even gives us kisses upon leaving and returning.  I know that this form of play is a necessary part of learning for kids, and I'm thrilled that it's so much FUN!

I'm writing about play for 31 days!  Check out an explanation of the challenge here and check out my other posts so far: 31 Days of Play!, Play for the Senses, This Mom Loves Music, Mastering Playdates.  Thanks for reading, I love reading your comments and thoughts!