Making Make-Believe Fun Props, Costumes and Creative Play Ideas
Intended to encourage children to develop their imaginations naturally, with only a small amount of help from adults, this book presents over 125 activities for creative and pretend play for young children. The book's introduction describes the importance and benefits of pretend play, the adult's role, and needed materials and space. The activities are presented in seven chapters: (1) "Play Settings and Imagination Spaces"; (2) "Little Scenes and Mini-Play"; (3) "Puppets and Sets"; (4) "Hats, Costumes, and Masks"; (5) "Storybook Play & Pretend," with activities related to popular children's books; (6) "Let's Play Make-Believe"; and (7) "Cooking, Games, and Other Activities Too Fun To Miss." Each activity includes drawings to illustrate the project and icons to assist readers in evaluating the project with regard to type, time needed for preparation, and ease of use. In addition, each activity lists the materials needed, lists the steps for completion, notes which steps require adult supervision, and presents additional ideas related to the activity. Three indices organize activities by type, materials used and skill level, and project name. (KB)