I am so grateful for all of the wonderful guest writers helping me get my posts done this week, I am busy getting ready for my Birthday Bash tonight and will be back to posting regulary soon. Sharla from My Little Gems is a wonderful blog that inspires me as a mother and she is our guest writer today!

 

Playtime Inspiration from Picture Books

 

Often at our house, we read a picture book over and over until we feel like we know the characters. In fact, we even use the characters from picture books as a springboard for Creative Play. These types of activities, are developmentally appropriate for young children, and increase their ability to comprehend things, as they make connections to their world through stories and pretend play.

 

Here are a few examples of what we have done in the past little while.

 

 

How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon

 

After reading this book several times, we made a pirate map, and had a treasure hunt around our house. We used pictures, to go from room to room and found clues. Afterwards, we found our treasure; a few fun toys were waiting in a special box.

 

 

 

Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola

 

 

After reading this book several times, we made our own pretend pasta- using some old yarn (for pasta), and a few balls (for meatballs), a large spoon, and big basket (for the pasta pot).

 

This story has a little chant/spell that Strega Nona says when she cooks her pasta. So we chanted that little rhyme while playing.

 

Connecting literature to pretend play can be done with almost any book, although some lend themselves better to such activity than others. Let your child be the guide. Suggest a few things, but encourage them to use their imagination and see what they can come up with. Most importantly, have fun learning and playing with your little ones!

 

Sharla is a stay-at-home-mother of two-almost three boys who taught school for about 10 years. She now enjoys teaching, pretending, and creating with her own children, and blogs about her adventures at My Little Gems.

Tags: friday, guest writer, play!

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