| Children's playtime should always be learning time. | | | | the enormous impact these games had on us until |
| Parents, teachers and caregivers can conveniently | | | | we were older. |
| accelerate three, four, five, six and seven-year | | | | 3. Play School-Another great favorite of mine! |
| old child development skills during playtime in: | | | | Children can take turns being the teacher and |
| Mathematical thinking, language development, | | | | presenting a lesson. As teacher, they are keeping |
| emotional development, social development, small | | | | the classroom under control and encouraging their |
| muscle development and large muscle | | | | students to follow the rules. They are playing the |
| development providing activities such as: | | | | role of teacher and learner and they are teaching |
| 1. Play Grocery Store-- save empty food boxes | | | | and learning themselves. Find a blackboard at a |
| such as oatmeal, graham cracker, salt, and | | | | flea market or garage sale. Chalk is inexpensive |
| pepper---any container that does not have sharp | | | | and means so much to the children to be able to |
| edges and make sure they are completely empty | | | | use it (like a real teacher). A dry-erase board is |
| and clean. Children can make their own grocery | | | | another option with dry-erase markers. A simple |
| store and label the cost of each item by writing | | | | wash cloth will erase great if an eraser is not |
| the price on the item with a marker. Play store is | | | | handy. Help children locate books that they will be |
| a fun way for the age group 3-9 to understand | | | | able to read easily to develop the lesson plans and |
| words as symbols, and costs associated with | | | | homework. Take turns being teacher and coming |
| food items. Inexpensive play money comes with | | | | up with consequences for breaking any rules such |
| a play cash register and is used to make change | | | | as: staying 10 minutes after class for disrupting |
| when a sibling or friend (customer) buys from the | | | | behavior during class or talking it out with teacher |
| play store. Children can take turns being customer | | | | and discussing choices. This play activity addresses |
| and clerk. This playtime activity develops all of the | | | | all of the child development skills listed above. |
| child development skills listed above. | | | | These are only a few of the games I used to |
| 2. Play Clothing Store-Use clothes that are not for | | | | play as a child that taught my siblings and me so |
| special occasions and are in different sizes. | | | | much more than we realized. Rather than |
| Children can also pretend it is a rummage or | | | | expensive or elaborate games that are bought in |
| garage sale. They can decide on prices and use | | | | stores, if children devise their own such as the |
| stickers to adhere to the clothes. The same play | | | | ones mentioned here, they are more important to |
| cash register and play money work perfectly. | | | | them. The children themselves develop their own |
| Save sacks for children to use to put the clothing | | | | fun and learning. |
| in that they are selling to each other. This activity | | | | Children have wonderful imaginations and if allowed |
| addresses all of the child development skills listed | | | | to use them in an educational approach will |
| above as well. As a child, playing store was my | | | | astound you and them! |
| favorite activity. My siblings and I did not realize | | | | |