Your 4 1/4-year-old: Playing Make-believe

Playing Make-believe

Your child's imagination is boundless. This year, maybe more than any other, you'll see that creativity during play. It's through fantasy that your child tries on different roles and "practices" new experiences and emotions. You don't need to buy anything special to encourage imaginative play. Your child can cast himself as the lead in any drama he can think up without a single theater-quality prop.
Imaginary要開始了嗎？好期待喔！其實光跟小馨一起玩，就見識到她豐富的想像力：這一秒她可以是老闆、下一分鐘馬上變小孩，我常常被弄的無所適從，不過也真好玩啦！

Your 4-year-old now
Sticks become swords. Blankets transform into superhero capes. Preschoolers love to use props to enter the world of make-believe. At four, your child's imagination is in hyperdrive. She can become whomever she chooses — a fossil hunter, mother, or pilot. Pretend play allows your child to explore new roles, resolve problems, and negotiate relationships. Her fantasy creates longer, more complex dramas that can roll in others, so now play scenes can last many hours or be repeated across several days.
棍子可以變弓箭、毛毯是超人的外衣....小馨還不致於如此，不過最近幾天晚上已經在玩"hide and seek"的遊戲，她就像鴕鳥一樣，只要將自己全身躲起來、用毛巾蓋住，就算是「躲」了，當然我們可以很快找到她。反觀當把拔躲起來時，因為家裡很大，她不敢獨自進入黑漆漆的房間，只好拉著我一起找，或耍賴不玩了....四歲小孩還很單純！真幸福！
話說回來，這樣的想像力說是可以讓小孩更有創造力、適應能力愈強，呵！我也希望小馨不要這麼快長大，她的preschooler童年只有兩年了，好難過這四年過的這麼快啊！


To help her travel to these fantasy worlds, keep a box of props on hand — the more versatile the better. Your old shoes and cast-off clothes spur more creativity than store-bought character costumes. You may also be surprised how many uses your child can find for the same object: A basket can carry goodies to Grandma or be a sailing ship for her doggie.

Look around the house for ideas. Empty cereal boxes and broken toasters can stock a pretend kitchen. Stuffed animals and cardboard bricks become a zoo. If you keep the objects in a box or trunk, rotate them occasionally. Your child will love rummaging through to see what's new.

Your life now
Make your life a little easier by encouraging your child to pick up after herself — in the playroom, her bedroom, the bathroom. Don't wait till a room's a wreck to tidy. Instead, build some cleanup time into daily routines; before you move to the next activity (say, from bath to bed), spend a few minutes having "pickup time" together. Eventually your child will learn to anticipate this ritual. At this age, a simple command to "clean up your room" won't work without you breaking down that overwhelming task and working with her on it, at least as the "executive organizer."