WE HAVE all seen children dress up as their heroes or pretend to be doctors, teachers, or other professionals during playtime. What seems like simple fun is actually something far more significant. It is how children make sense of their world, acting out experiences, ideas, or stories. Imagination, which lies at the heart of children鈥檚 role play, is even more vital than simply acquiring knowledge.
Structured pretend play, also known as imaginative or dramatic play, helps young learners understand and navigate complex situations better than lectures and equips them with essential life and social skills through immersive and imaginative experiences. Through such play, children develop skills such as sharing, taking turns, expressing feelings, solving problems, and working together. These social habits, formed early, become the foundation for emotional intelligence and teamwork later in life. Therefore, early years鈥� education needs to go beyond memorising letters or numbers. It must be hands-on, engaging, and built around real experiences.
A pretend play area is a designated interactive space where children can engage in imaginative play by taking on different roles and acting out scenarios. It can include props like dress-up clothes, toy kitchen sets, or building blocks.听It can also be a more elaborate themed area, such as a doctor鈥檚 office, a restaurant, or a construction site.听The key is that it provides a space where children can immerse themselves in imaginary scenarios and roles.听Its significance lies in the fact that as children play, they are actively learning about social roles, responsibility, communication, and decision-making.
At pretend play areas, children are naturally prompted to cooperate, share, negotiate turns, cope with disappointment, and rebuild trust. For example, they decide who will be the doctor, who will be the patient, or who will be the shopkeeper; who goes first, and who goes next. In doing so, they learn to take turns, wait patiently, give others a chance, solve problems, etc. They learn and practice real service encounters like 鈥楳ay I help you?鈥� or 鈥榊ou owe me two coins,鈥� thus reinforcing vocabulary, syntax, and narrative ability. This also encourages critical thinking: if the 鈥榮tore鈥� is out of apples, how will the child react?
In doing so, they build social bonds, independence, and a sense of responsibility. It is their small world, and they decide what they want to do. Another strength of the pretend play areas is that they are designed to incorporate all learners and welcome every child. For example, introverted children can act out their role silently, while active and kinaesthetic learners get an opportunity to move around freely and explore to their heart鈥檚 content. All kinds of learners can find something to engage with. This environment encourages children to ask questions, try things out, and learn through discovery.听 Teachers support them as facilitators by guiding when needed and helping them stay curious and involved.
The Cambridge Early Years Programme promotes the philosophy of play-based and inquiry-based learning for young learners as the best practice. Providing a pretend play area fits well within this philosophy. 听At school, we value this ever-so-important aspect of early years education. We believe children are born curious, creative, and imaginative. If they are given the right environment along with encouragement, they can flourish in critical thinking and independent learning while building social and emotional skills. Pretend play areas support the holistic development of a child, accommodating different types of learners, honouring individual pace, and aligning with proven educational models. And best of all, they allow children to experience their world of imagination, discover, experiment, comprehend, and lead.
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Najma Arif Motahar听is head of pre-primary at Glenrich International School, Satarkul.
