Play Matters
Real-life experiences live anew each time your child pretends. That's because for young children, play lies at the very heart of thinking. It's how they turn ideas over in their minds. It's how they recall what happened—how it looked and sounded and felt. Children absorb and ponder reality through play.
A child who sees the tall buildings and noisy traffic in a big city might later recreate those experiences while playing in a sandbox, building with blocks, riding on a tricycle, or even cruising along in a laundry basket.
Sometimes, as in “Piff and Her Sandbox City,” there's visible evidence of a child's thoughts. Other times, as in “Way Up High,” one might only glimpse a rudimentary motion, a moment of stretching like a rocket. Although we can't…
