I was at a house this week where a clever mom decided to re-do the playroom. She took all the costumes for pretend play out of the wooden chest where they were ignored and hung them on hooks for ready play! I asked my 4 year-old friend who he would like to be and he pointed to the fireman’s jacket. We snapped him into his coat, gave him his hat, handed him his inflatable hose and we were off to put out a fire. Mom and I had the ax, fire truck, walkie talkie and fire extinguisher.
But where was the fire? He pointed to a pop up hut and said at that house. I pointed out to mom that having a structure for pretend play will encourage creativity, whether it is a cardboard box big enough to fit some preschoolers, a kids’ pop up tent or hut, or some floor mats that are flexible enough to form into a house. Use that structure for your doctor’s office, barber shop or house on fire.
You can pick up children’s costumes at Halloween time, at tag sales or on the Internet any time.
