With my son’s current obsession with Harry Potter and casting spells, I knew that getting him this glittering wizard set with hat and cape was something that he would love to play in! When it arrived he ran up to his room, grabbed his wand and asked me to put it on him.
In our family imaginative play is very important. I am not one of those moms that plans out my kids days or that sits on the floor and plays with them all the time. I want them to develop those skills and their own imaginations. Imagination is a huge part of learning, creating and problem solving and although I can give them tools, I want them to come up with the play aspect of it all. They always impress me with their imaginations and I love to observe and sometimes participate in their playtime.
Our little guy casted spells that he learned at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and both his sister and I pretended to do different things that his spells were commanding. At one point he told me “Disappero” and so I went inside, snuck in a little jelly bean snack and when I came back out he told me that his disappearing spell only works for a small time because I came back! I love it!
For the little one, I wanted to work on her motor skills as she is starting Pre-K but also allow her some imaginative play as well. I loved the Make It Creative sets from Great Pretenders and I quickly snagged the fairy wing design kit because I knew she would love it!
I showed her how to thread the plastic needle that came with the set and place items on it and then we worked together to create a zig zag pattern of fun decorations. She really did good with this was so proud of the creation that she was coming up with.
I loved that she was able to put her own personality in the wings and add her own flair. She loved the foam stickers too and also learned how to place the jewels on by using circular stickers to press them on. There was a lot of learning with this kit, from the sewing, to removing sticker backings, to pressing jewels. All of it was really fun for her.
The minute that her wings were just right, she threw them on and had to run outside and fly around. As her brother was casting spells, she was dodging them with her “super fast glitter wings”. It was a crack up watching them two play together, meld their own imaginations and games and have a great time.
If you are looking to encourage more imaginative play here are some tips to help:
- Let the moments happen: I find that by intervening, it actually changes the way my kids play and they try to please me and do exactly what I suggested. If I stay out of it, their creativity is amazing.
- Utilize Props: These DIY Wings and Wizard set are great props for starting their imaginative play and they really encourage the kids to get out, create, explore and imagine all sorts of scenarios.
- Play in their world: I only participate when asked and then I only play exactly as they tell me. This is their world, their imagination and my job is to participate, not influence.
Disclosure: I am writing this in partnership with Great Pretenders, but all opinions are my own.
