Last month, the Discovery Preschool held a Renaissance Fayre family night. This was a chance for parents and caregivers to spend some time at the program, share food and participate in activities that reflected the preschoolers current interest in castle, dragons, potions, fairies, princesses and all things medieval or fairy tale.
They constructed a castle around the climber in the playground, made a fairy garden, colored shields with their own crests, set up a castle photo booth, performed puppet shoes and had a magical time mixing options with the resident wizard.
Pretend play allows children to experience a different perspective on familiar situations. How can the climber they see everyday in the playground be used differently when it is a castle? Creating make-believe situations builds a child’s capacity for cognitive flexibility and creativity. It also provides opportunities to learn – What are castles built from? What shape are shields? What happens when I add lots of baking soda to a vinegar potion? Why? Setting up for this event also provided plenty of opportunities to problem solve and work together with friends to complete a project. And of course, it was a lot of fun. As one preschooler said when she ran out of the fairy garden, “This is the best day! Isn’t this the best day?”
