Does my early childhood program promote mature make-believe play?

Almost all programs for young children have some kind of play going on. The problem is that not all play helps children develop self-regulation (executive function). In some centers, children play with things and not each other. There may be fights and arguments during play time. Instead of becoming engrossed and playing for a significant amount of time, some children wander from center to center.

In order for play to help children develop self-regulation, teachers need to plan for play, and have strategies for helping children develop play in the same way they work on letters and numbers. Only play in which children pretend to be someone, and become so engrossed in this make-believe that they act and talk like that person, promotes self-regulation.

The kind of play that promotes executive function/self-regulation involves pretending with another child who also takes on a role. Children talk about who they are going to be and what they are going to do before they act it out. To get a picture of what this means, think about how you used to play as a child with the children in your neighborhood or your brothers and sisters. You probably acted out a pretend adventure or scene and you were probably so involved that your parents had to remind you to come home for dinner!

To determine whether your child’s preschool program includes the type of play that promotes the development of self-regulation, watch for the features in the list below. And while you are evaluating the program, remember that real play is something that teachers cannot “stage” to impress the parents. Further, it can be better on some days than others—visit the classroom more than once to get a true picture of how good the play is. And most important, play should be fun! Children should be enjoying themselves—smiling, talking, laughing, pretending.

In a good pre-school play program:The environment is set up so that children have props and costumes to use for play. Children should be dressing up and playing someone, like the mommy or daddy, the doctor, or the waiter at a restaurant.
When it comes to toys and props the rule of thumb is the older the children the less realistic are the props. Plastic food is OK to give 2-year-olds an idea for pretending, but in a 4-year-old classroom you would want to see more props that children re-purposed or made by themselves.
There are play themes that involve things that children have had experience with, such as the family or grocery store. The center should look like home or the grocery store so that children can feel like they are in that place.
Children play for at least 30 minutes a day (longer in full-day programs), uninterrupted by lessons or teaching activities. Two 15-minute play times are not the same as an uninterrupted 30 minutes.
When children are playing, they are pretending to be someone. Children talk like that person and act like that person. When the mommy is mad because the baby is naughty, the mommy will sound mad. When the doctor talks to the patient, she will use words like “I need to take your temperature,” or “I’ll write you a prescription.”
Children play with other children, instead of engaging in solitary activities like playing on the computer. The roles that they play interact in a complementary way. For example, the mommy cooks for the baby and the baby eats the food and asks for more. The doctor gives the patient medicine and the patient tells the doctor what is wrong with her. The teacher teaches his students and reads them books, and the students act like students.
Children talk with the other children about what they are going to play together. “Let’s pretend that you’re the baby and you’re sick. I’ll be the dad and I have to take you to the hospital.” “OK, I have a broken arm and a fever and I’ll cry and you put me in the car.”
Part of the play is talking to the other players. “Baby, you don’t look very good. Are you sick?” “Waaaah, I broke my arm and I have a fever.” “Let me check,” (puts hand to forehead), “Yep, you’re sick.”
Teachers help children learn how to pretend by modeling different roles and by helping children think of what might come next. Teachers don’t direct all of the play but step out once children seem to get their pretend ideas going.
Teachers help children resolve social problems that arise when they want to play the same thing or argue over a toy. Teachers help children resume their play after it is interrupted.
Teachers take an active role when a child wanders off to another center, either to get the child involved in play at the new center or help the child re-engage with the group he/she has left.
Teachers can explain and articulate what their philosophy of play is. Why do they have play? What do they do when a child wanders and cannot seem to get engaged? What do they do when children argue? How do they introduce a new play theme?