Two little ones galloped onto my evening train, finding a spot on the pole to hold onto before the train departed. I smiled as I listened:
“Darling, where should we go today?”
“Why, to get our hair done, of course.”
“Of course. We’ll get our hair done downtown.”
Completely in character, using gestures and different voices, their dialogue continued.
Kids love to pretend. In fact, fantasy play is one of the four kinds of play kids engage in, and in my experience in early childhood, it’s the most frequented. If you’ve read Purposeful Play, by Kristine Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler, you’re familiar with the magic that can happen when we create spaces for kids to pretend.
