There is no activity for which young children are better prepared than fantasy play. Nothing is more dependable and risk-free, and the dangers are only pretend’ – Vivian Gussin-Paley, 2004.
Fantasy play is the ‘glue that binds together all other pursuits’, including the early teaching of reading and writing skills, according to Ms Gussin-Paley, teacher, writer and advocate for the importance of children’s play. It is in the development of their themes, characters and plots that children explain their thinking, she continues in her book A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play.
Whether the child is crawling under the table meowing and woofing in secret communication, dabbling with wizardry in the mud kitchen or saving the day as Bat Girl, it is through this form of play that children can explore themes of good and bad, kindness and cruelty and hope and fear. It is our role as practitioners to observe the children’s play and enter, where appropriate, as a minor character to model language and behaviour.
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