Imaginary Play: Play Kitchen Toys
Are pretend play kitchen toys really a necessary preschool educational toy? They seem like a space filler and I wonder if it will just collect dust.
are not a "necessity" but they are an excellent educational toy to give your young children. You can teach many skills with these toys and yes they will not be used all the time but you will be surprised how often some children really do love to use them. You can use it to encourage imagination, self care, mathematical skills, and manners. Give it a try, if you have room or even if you do not, you can find a play kitchen that will work for your home and your family.
can encourage imagination by giving your child the opportunity to make meals for their pretend friends or lovies. They can also make meals for you and real friends too. They will then use mathematical skills to divide foods up and place kitchen play toys like plates and forks in front of each guest, dividing again. They can even take it a step further and play out a scene with guests arriving, talking through the meal, and cleaning up. These sort of "complete" imaginary experiences train your young ones brain to recognize a beginning, middle and end of a story. Take the mathematical skills a step further and sort the
by color or by shape or by use. Maybe even allow for some problem solving and tell your child that they can only use spoons, so what kind of meal can you give your guests since we only have spoons? If they say ice cream say YES - it is just pretend and they are doing great problem solving.
While the imaginary story is taking place when using your
While the imaginary story is taking place when using your
, you will get a glimpse into manners and self care that your child is aware of. For example, do the guests wash their hands before they eat? Do they use a napkin? Do they say please and thank you? The nice thing is that if you have been working on these skills with your child, these
allow them to put those skills in to practice in a fun way and it allows them to "correct" their guests.
Even when a child is playing with
Even when a child is playing with
alone, they will be developing their minds in mathematical, imaginative and creative ways. Allow them the chance to play and even though you can't see what is going on in their minds, trust that when the right educational toys are provided, their minds will be developing. Have you noticed that in most good educational facilities for younger children, a kitchen or home-living center is always there! Have one at home too - they will not play with it all the time but they will never get bored of it and it is definitely worth the investment.
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