Supporting Children’s Creative Play at Home
If you are the parent of a young child, it is easy to feel stir-crazy during the winter months, when the days are short and the evenings are long. Wondering what you can do, other than watch another episode of Paw Patrol or Bluey?
We have lots of ideas for creative play that can keep you and your young child busy, happy, and engaged no matter the season or the weather outside! And creative play matters for children and their healthy development as it helps them with language development, self-expression, and can build empathy.
In creative play, also known as pretend or dramatic play, children use their imaginations as they explore their environment, express their ideas, and experiment with materials. This kind of play is open-ended and child-led. Parents can support your children’s creative play by providing interesting materials for play, allowing ample time for play, and engaging in play with your children.
Here are some fun, easy, and cost-efficient ideas for creative play:
Dress-up. Create a box of dress-up clothes to promote imaginative play! Hit up thrift stores or pull items out of your own closet that will spark creative play. Silky scarves, silly hats, fancy shirts, swanky shoes – the possibilities are as endless as the fun!
Hide and seek. A good old-fashioned game of hide and seek can be a fun way to pass the time with children. A good alternative for indoor play? Everyone takes turns hiding a stuffed animal!
Guess It! game. This is a simple but fun game that you can create at home with an empty box of tissues and your imagination! Find interesting items around the house, with different textures and shapes. Put one in the box and then invite your child to reach in – no peeking! – and try to guess the items just by using their sense of touch. Take turns selecting items for the “Guess It!” box and encourage your child to describe the object before they guess. This is a fun way to support sensory exploration and language development!
Water play. Children love to play with water, but it can be a messy indoor activity. One wintertime solution is to make the bathtub a place for water play! Fill a small plastic container with water and place it in the tub. Add spoons, cups, eye droppers, plastic animals, corks, and other interesting materials. Your child can splash and pour to their heart’s content without worries about a mess! (Please remember to never leave young children alone with water at any depth over 1 inch!)
Small world play. A shoebox filled with a variety of open-ended materials can be a great inspiration for creative play and imaginative storytelling. Small plastic animals and people, pieces of fabric, toy cars, shells, small building blocks, doll house furniture, multicolor pom poms, popsicle sticks, etc. You can even develop “themed” small world play boxes, such as farm, forest, or sea.
Fort building. Design a cozy space with your child. Using chairs, sofa cushions, and blankets, you can help your child build the indoor fort of their dreams. Once constructed, cozy up together inside with a few books, stuffed animals, board games, or other favorite toys.
Cold weather walk. Getting outside on a cold day gives your child a chance to experience the world in a different way, with all of their senses. Visit a park or simply walk around the block and spend some time talking with your child about what is happening in nature during the winter. With the leaves off the trees, it is easier to see nests. When the weather is cold enough, you can see your breath and find ice in surprising places. Squirrels might be seen digging up the acorns they buried months ago. Birds gather at bird feeders, which is interesting to watch. There’s lots to notice!
To learn more about these and other fun creative play experiences, check out these links:
The Benefits of Dress-Up Play (The Genius of Play)
20 Fun Indoor Games (Today’s Parent)
The Importance of Water Play (Children’s Museum of Memphis)
The Joy & the Learning in Fort Building (Tinkergarten)
Ideas to Try for Small World Play (Teach Early Years)
