Make-Believe: Games & Activities for Imaginative Play

This lively how-to guide contains more than 100 activities and games that parents, teachers, and other adults can use to stimulate the imagination and sense of play in children between the ages of 2 and 5. Along with these games, the authors describe the importance of imaginative play during the early years, including its contribution to happiness and self-confidence, and its vital role in the development of cognitive, emotional, social, creative, and physical skills.

From the Introduction:

Both parents and teachers will find that the games in this book can help children learn how to expand their imaginations. Children with a repertoire of make-believe play skills are more self-reliant and demand less of your time as they follow their own creative direction with a game, embellishing it with details and making up new variations. The general benefits of imaginative play are discussed in chapter 1, "What Make-Believe Can Do for Children," and the specific benefits of focused activity areas, such as motor, sensory, and role-playing, are presented at the beginning of each activity chapter.

Dorothy G. Singer, EdD, and Jerome L. Singer, PhD, are internationally recognized for their work in the field of child development. They are Co-Directors of the Yale University Family Television Research and Consultation Center in the Department of Psychology, involving extensive research and advisory activities with industry, government, education, and artistic groups. They have also served as consultants to many organizations, ranging from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Ministry of Education of France, to the People's Republic of China Media Delegation. Their work with children's television programming includes Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Barney & Friends, and Nickelodeon Cable Network. The Singers are the authors of innumerable books and articles for parents, educators, psychologists, and other professionals. They live in Connecticut, and have three sons and five granddaughters.