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In early childhood education, how can a variety of pretend play be incorporated?

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Located right next to a tram stop on Flamington, Goodstart Early Learning Center provides childcare for children from birth up to five years old. The children come from a wide variety of diverse and cultural backgrounds, and so do the educators. In addition to the indoor and outdoor spaces, the center also has a lot of different learning corners for the children. For example, the classroom contains a construction corner, a music corner, a language corner, a reading corner and many others. The corners here allow children to act out everyday scenarios they encounter or see on a regular basis using their imaginations. A lot of natural materials are used in the classroom and the center tries to use them as much as possible. In terms of the outdoor space, it is a really good space for children to play and explore nature. It is surrounded by beautiful big trees and colored flowers and vegetables. For children to use their fine and gross motor skills, there is a reading corner, a bike and scooter, a sadpit, slides, balancing beam, etc., in the outdoor space.

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In terms of the 3 observations, all 3 of them seem to relate to pretend play somewhat, based on my observations. The corner of the classroom which is the saloon beauty, construction area, and jungle area is somewhat related to pretend play such as applying makeup, creating scenarios using the animals and blocks, and using imaginative and creative skills. Moreover, it illustrates how children use their communication skills and social abilities to communicate with one another.

Observation 1:
In the classroom, it was time for packing up before the children could go outside. The teacher instructed the children, "All of you, it is now time to pack up". Standing near the construction area, I watched M pick up blocks and put them back into the shelf. When she was packing up the blocks, M asked her teacher, "Can I put on gloves so I can pack up more quickly?". She then took her gloves out of her bag and returned. Other children joined in while she was packing up.

Among the children's voices were:

1. "I got a big block."

2. "I am done packing."

3. "watch out."

4. "come on quickly so we can go outside."

5. "we are done! Run!!!!!"

6. "I am going to use my gloves too."

Observation 2:
In the classroom with the rest of the children, A was sitting alone in the beauty salon area while I walked past her. She invited me to join her there and asked "do you want any makeup?". As she picked up a brush and blusher, she pretended to apply it to my cheeks. She then asked, "Do you want lipstick, too?" and began to apply it to my lips. Once she was done, she continued playing with the mannequin. As another girl walked past her, she asked "are you doing makeup?" and A replied "yes' ' as they both sat near the table together

Observation 3:
Observing two children in the jungle corner of the classroom, one boy, J, said, "Tiger is my favourite animal." The other child, X, responded, "I've seen a tiger in the zoo." As J pointed at the pig, giggling, he said, "Pigs can swim." X replied, "No, they can run and sleep." Then they both looked at each other and laughed together. After that, they each took an elephant toy and J said to X, "Let's put them on the grass; they want to walk.". Then, X said, "Let's put the elephant to sleep", and tilted it in the direction it looked like it was asleep.

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Through the process of the three observations I have conducted, I have been able to observe how the young mind of children works. From the ideas they have to their ability to imagine. The way in which they interact among themselves and are able to share their ideas with one another is something that amazes me.

There was great teamwork visible in observation 1 when the children succeeded in packing up and demonstrating determination. They worked together well as a team and the teacher did not have to repeat herself to get the children to clean up. Routines like this where children need to pack up are good for them now and in the future.

A child pretending to put on makeup is observed in observation 2. As Piaget argued, children's pretend play helps them solidify new cognitive schemes they are developing. This play, then, reflects changes in their conceptions or thoughts. As children pretend and experiment, they also learn. As Berk (2008) points out, play does not merely reflect what they have learned. In addition, pretend play has been suggested as a stepping stone in a child's development that facilitates theory-of-mind abilities (Vygotsky, 1978).

EYLF Outcomes:

L O 2 : Children are connected with and contribute to their world. (Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment)

In observation when children were packing up, the children solved problems together and contributed to the group outcome of packing up so they could go outside.

L O 4: Children are confident and involved learners.

As can be seen from observation 2 and observation 3, children are confident and involved learners. By developing dispositions such as curiosity, perseverance, and creativity, children are able to participate in and benefit from learning. In addition to transferring and adapting what they have learned from one context to another, effective learners locate and use resources to learn. Having these areas in the classroom, as seen in observation 2 and 3, the "beauty saloon area" and "animal jungle area" are a supportive and active learning environment. Children who are confident and involved learners are increasingly able to take responsibility for their own learning, personal regulation, and contributions to society. The Preoperative Stage of Jean Piaget's development theory indicates that children think on two levels simultaneously - one imaginative and one realistic - while engaging in imaginative activities. A form of metacognition known as dramatic play involves reflecting on and monitoring one's own thinking as a child. Their classrooms should be equipped with these spaces for dramatic play, and sometimes they can even participate themselves to help develop the play.

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In addition to encouraging creativity, pretend play gives children the opportunity to develop their own ideas and learn cooperative play. In the classroom, open-ended activities are always welcome, whether children are faced with newmaterials or asked a question by a teacher. Children should not be limited to predetermined answers when they are asked questions, but should be encouraged to think creatively by coming up with answers (and sometimes questions!) that have an open-ended nature.

Incorporating role play into the classroom creates variety, a change in pace, opportunities for creative learning, as well as a source of fun! The role play activity lets kids pretend to be someone else or place themselves in imaginary situations. Children can be anything they want, whether it's the King, the Prime Minister, the pop star, or their favorite cartoon character, if they so choose. A role-playing scenario can also be used to facilitate the expression of a variety of scenarios and familiarize children with them, such as at an airport, a restaurant, or even asking for directions.

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A role play experience was conducted in an outdoor environment for the children as a way of providing them with different types of environments and for them to be able to have their own space. My strategy was to let the children figure out their own discoveries while I only was there as a facialitor, and I then extended the experience based on the interests of the children after they had discovered what they were going to do. As a group, the children took turns in giving their feedback and ideas on what they might be able to do based on the environment they are in, and how they might act out in it. Imaginative play, according to Vygotsky, is "the most important factor in development"-a unique area of proximal development in which children acquire challenging skills as well as develop culturally valued abilities, giving them a unique opportunity to experiment with challenging skills.

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Bodrova, Elena, and Deborah Leong. “Vygotskian and Post-Vygotskian Views on Children’s Play •.” American Journal of Play, vol. 7, no. 3, 2015, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1070266.pdf.

“Piaget’s Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development | Lifespan Development.” Courses.lumenlearning.com, courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/piagets-preoperational-stage-of-cognitive-development/#:~:text=Piaget%20believed%20that%20children%27s%20pretend.

Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. ACECQA, 2009.

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