Quality Childcare & Early Education With Our Day Nurseries in Sanderstead | Little Apples Day Nursery

One thing nearly all children love to do is to make believe; imagining we’re someone else, or somewhere else, or in an altogether different reality is one of the wonders of childhood – and many of us adults could learn a thing or two about the creative freedom this involves! It’s why many day nurseries and preschools, such as our own in Croydon’s Sanderstead, look to include activities that feed the sense of play and make believe in pursuit of cognitive and social development.

On this page, we’ve looked at both why make believe is such an important part of early childcare and education, as well as how parents in the Sanderstead area who may not be enrolled in nursery schools can encourage creative play and fuel young imaginations!

If you’ve found this page by typing something like ‘day nurseries’ or ‘preschools in Sanderstead’, you may be more keen to see exactly what we get up to around here! So click on over to our Typical Daily Routine page to get an idea of exactly that…

Learning Through Make Believe

First of all, why should parents around Sanderstead encourage children to make believe and engage in imaginative play? After all, it may look, at first glance, like a distraction from more traditional forms of learning – like reading or doing exercises in workbooks. Well, here are just a few of the benefits:

• Linguists and experts in early cognitive development know the importance of using symbols from an early age: symbols are the foundation of our language.
• The types of words employed in imaginative play at home and at nursery schools like our own are often new, or rarely encountered; think of “spaceship”, “castle” or “adventure” – pretending can thus lead to significant expansion of vocabulary.
• Playing is only sometimes a solitary thing; often it’s as part of a group. So making believe can be a great means of socialising, and learning how to co-operate / enjoy others’ company.
• Another benefit Sanderstead parents should be aware of is how occupying another’s position through a creatively imagined role can breed empathy, and make it so children better relate to others.
• Perhaps the most obvious, but essential reason why day care nurseries, childcare professionals and preschools run activities based around making believe is… it’s fun! The kids love it and that’s such an important part of what we do at Little Apples Day Nursery – keeping children involved, engaged and excited.

How to Encourage Your Children to Make Believe

We’d recommend Sanderstead parents to get involved in some of the make believe activities children suggest; you might feel silly to begin with, but it can be fun for adults, too! Help them steer the stories they create, and push them to keep developing their storytelling skills.

Another great idea, no stranger to day nurseries and preschools, is to stock up on props and items that can assist in embodying make believe play:

• Old clothes can really help children’s imagination run wild, as they dream up new characters and “get into the role” by dressing like it
• Crates, boxes and similar items can help them create a setting/stage to act out their fantasies
• Other, non-worn props like newspapers, magazines or old, unwanted commodities of all shapes and sizes
• Dolls, figurines and teddies are great, especially for younger children
• “Real world” items like dishes and cooking utensils, for the realists among them