Learn Together
Pretend play and conversations lead to reading later on. Pretend play is also a great way for children to use their imagination and reflect on their community and culture.
Watch the video: https://vimeo.com/214884831
Materials
- Videos or pictures of your neighborhood and neighborhood helpers
- Clothes, socks, hats and scarves
- Paper, markers, crayons and pencils
- Your imagination!
Make Together
- Talk about the different places in your neighborhood and people who work there. People like bus drivers, teachers, mail carriers, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, cashiers, chefs, waiters, and so many more neighborhood helpers! Look online or in a children’s book to find pictures and videos of these different neighborhood helpers.
- Use different clothes, socks, hats and scarves to dress up like a neighborhood helper.
- Turn your couch into a bus!
- Sing “The Wheels on the Bus”!
- Call out different stops in your neighborhood.
- Talk about the special things in your neighborhood, like favorite parks or where family members live.
- Make a community floor map!
- Cut out colored paper squares to represent buildings and white paper to make roads.
- Use cars, small toys and figurines to walk, ride and play in your pretend neighborhood!
- Make and deliver mail!
- Draw and write letters to friends and family.
- Design stamps with markers, crayons and pencils.
- Create a uniform for your mail carrier.
- Pack up all your mail in a laundry bag and deliver it around your home.
- Pretend to run a bodega or deli out of your kitchen!
- Use paper, markers, crayons and pencils to design your money and menus.
- Give everyone in the family play money to purchase food from your kitchen.
- Make a sandwich or dish from your favorite deli or restaurant.
- Other ideas include pretending your bathroom is a barbershop or salon, or your bedroom is the doctor’s office. The possibilities are endless!