The Bub in the Belly

Here I'll share with you some image play examples that we have done in class. Remember, the class examples are limited because there aren't many props in the small classroom and we need to keep the activity short. Take them as ideas for image play at home which you can improve on and expand at home. Remember also, and as I explained in Part 12, don't just hand your child some toys and ask him to play by himself. Get involved, guide him along and make it a multi-sensory experience.

When Ryan was less than one year old, we did very simple pretend play in class. For example, sensei would show him pictures of a panda and what the panda likes to eat. Then he was given a picture of a panda and told that the panda was hungry. He was then asked to pretend to feed the panda some leaves.

Another example for babies: the sensei showed him a series of pictures and told a story. Then she showed each picture again and Ryan acted out the story (with my help). For example, the sensei showed a picture of a calm sea and she said, "The sea is calm, it's a sunny day, we're sailing out to sea in a steady boat". So the babies pretended they are in a boat on a calm sea. They listened to the seagulls calling, the waves lapping, they smelled the sea, they felt the warm sun. Then another picture was shown - the sky is dark, there is lightning - the sensei said, "A storm is coming, the rain falls down, the boat starts to rock from side to side." The babies rocked from side to side, they hid from the rain, they heard the lightning clap. Then the story went on - the storm subsides, all is well, suddenly a shark appears in the water, everyone is scared, but the shark soons goes away and everyone is relieved" and so on. The little babies followed the story with the appropriate reactions. (Of course, at this stage, the parents play all the roles.)

When Ryan graduated to the class for 1 year old and above, the pretend play was more detailed. As the children are still at an early stage of training so, to help them along, we show them a lot of images and give them some props and materials to play with. Some of the scenarios may be unfamiliar to them - you may want them to pretend to go on a picnic but some of the children have never been on a picnic so they would not know what to visualise in their minds. The images and pictures will help.

When Ryan moved up to the class for 2 year olds, we added on the imaginary story.

For Ryan's current level (2 years old), these are some scenarios which we have done for pretend play and imaginary story.

Picnic and Campfire

Tell your child that his family and friends are going on a picnic and after that to a campfire. Show a series of pictures to explain the steps to take to prepare for a family picnic. Ask him to pretend to pack for a picnic. Give your baby some 'cakes', some cups and sheets of sponge in various colours to act as bread (white), lettuce (green), tomato (red), cheese (yellow) and ask him to make sandwiches. Once the sandwiches are done, pack them all into the container and go on a picnic! Use some cardboard to make a pretend campfire. Stand around the campfire and sing and dance around the campfire to the song, "If You're Happy".

Lucky Draw

Prepare a poster showing prizes for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth winners, eg. a car for the first prize winner, a computer for the second prize winner, etc. Prepare individual pictures of each prize as well. Show your child the poster and say we are going to have a lucky draw. Give your child a ticket stub and ask him to put it into the lucky draw box. Draw the numbers, call them out and give out the prizes according to the prize poster. (Ryan got first prize for this one - hahaha!)

Visit to Jurong Bird Park

Give your child a cardboard camera and tell him that he and you are going to the Jurong Bird Park today. Show a series of pictures about his visit, it may be a picture of the birds, a picture of the ticket booth, a picture of the restaurant at the park, etc. At each picture, ask him to take a photograph of what he sees. Next, give him a blank photo album with captions for each photo. Give him the pictures and ask him to insert each picture next to the right caption.

Magic Laptop

Fold a card into two to make the laptop. On the bottom half, draw the keys A-Z, the space bar and the "Enter" key. On the top half, paste a transparency or a plastic sheet to make a pocket where you can slot in pictures. Show your child various pictures and make up a story with him. Tell him that he has to type the story into the computer and when he does so and presses enter, the picture (eg, banana, octopus, car) will appear on the screen. When he is done, ask him to type in his name.

Skiing

Show your child a series of pictures about a skiing trip for the family. Make two skis with two sticks for him to ski and let him pretend to ski all over the room.

Butterfly

Show pictures of a butterfly flying around, show the grass, the flowers and the sky. Ask your child to pretend to be a butterfly. You can dress him up in a butterfly suit or wings. Or you can give him a big plastic bag and ask him to fly it around. Put pictures of the grass, the flowers and the sky on the wall and ask him to fly towards them. Or let him hold a picture of the butterfly and fly the picture instead.

Folding napkins

Use pictures to show how to fold napkins for the restaurant. Show him step-by-step. Let him practice and do it himself.

Taking Pictures At The Zoo

Show your child some pictures and tell him that he and you are going to the zoo today. Explain that, at the zoo, he will see animals like monkey, rabbit, lion, etc. Put up pictures of the animals and give your child a cardboard camera and ask him to take pictures of the animals. After that, give him small pictures of the animals and tell him that his pictures have been printed. Look through the pictures with him and get him to name the animals again.

Four Seasons

Show your child flashcards of the four seasons and describe what the four seasons are and what happens in that season, eg, flowers bloom in spring, etc. Now give your child individual pictures of the four seasons and give him an activity for each season. For example, flowers bloom in spring, so for spring give him some flowers to pick and arrange in a vase. Summer is when the sun is very hot, so give him an empty bottle to pretend to put on sun block. Autumn is where the trees shed their leaves, so ask him to rake the fallen leaves. Winter is when snow falls, so he can play with some cotton balls and pretend he is playing in the snow.

Let's Be Superman

Show pictures and explain - Why must we be Superman? (to save people, to become strong, to fly...). Make a cape (you can use a red plastic bag). Then use cardboard to make the front of Superman's costume - make sure you include Superman's S sign and his shorts! Tie a string on it and hang on your child. Tell the child he is Superman. Carry him and fly him around the room!

Making Japanese Rice Balls

Prepare three white triangle shapes for the rice ball and three black strips of paper for the seaweed. Show a series of pictures to show how to make the rice ball in a few simple steps: First, scoop the rice, then gather the rice into a ball, add in a plum, make it into a triangle and add in the seaweed. Now ask your child to make three rice balls following the steps. When he is done, he can pretend to eat it.

Feed the fishes

Make a pond using an old shoe box - put in a picture of a pond and some fishes into the box. Crush some coloured paper into small balls and ask your child to feed the fishes.

Buying and Eating Ice Cream

Take out a box and say you are an ice-cream seller. Ring the bell. Take out a cone, a cup and a piece of bread and ask your child how he would like his ice-cream to be served (eg. in a cone, in a cup, on a slice of bread). Then scoop the ice cream (coloured furry balls or shaving cream) and name the flavours as you scoop. Then ask your child to pay you for the ice-cream and after he pretends to pay, pass him the ice cream and he can pretend to eat.

Exploring Under The Sea

Show your child pictures of sea animals and paste pictures of the same sea animals all over the room. Make diving goggles with cardboard and blue plastic over the eye area and ask your child to put them on and explore under the sea. Point out the various sea creatures to them as he explores.

Various scenarios

Ask your child to roll a dice. On the dice, there are a few activities like visit the notice board, go for a shower, visit the shopping mall, raise the flag, tie the ribbons, pluck the apples. Put up pictures of the relevant activities. Once your child rolls the dice to do that activity, carry out that activity with him.

Detective Dog

Introduce a character called "Detective Dog" - show a picture of a dog (eg. a cartoonish dog with a magnifying glass!). Explain that he is pursuing a suspect called "Slippery Fox" - show a picture of the suspect (a cartoonish fox that looks very suspicious!). Show a picture of the neighbourhood and explain that Detective Dog has been searching all over the neighbourhood for the suspect. Where is he? Put up pictures of various spots in the neighbourhood - the playground, the library, the train station, etc. Each picture has a slot in which Slippery Fox is hiding. Ask your child to help Detective Dog to go around the neighbourhood and look for Slippery Fox!