They Make Us Believe

October 01, 2008

Can it be October already? The (pre)school year is on its speedy way, rushing headlong into the fall months and (gasp!) holidays. As we turn the page on our calendars, October is already chock full of activities, playdates and birthday parties. And beckoning at the very end of the month -- Halloween! Which of course gets us thinking about

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Pretend Play and Preschooler Development

October 02, 2008

The whole realm of make believe, dress up and role play is so far from the every day tasks to which most of us adults devote ourselves, that it is often difficult for us to appreciate its centrality in young children's lives. And yet, when we really pay attention to our preschoolers' play and train of thought, we realize that imagination and

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Wise Words about the Purple Crayon

October 03, 2008

The classic book, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, is the be-all, end-all of an imagination story.  Dress-up, costumes, imagination, making a world around you out of props -- or thin air.  That's what Harold and his crayon do, and it's what your own kiddos do in their lushly imaginative minds, all day, every day.  Today, some

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SavvyPicks: Books that Celebrate a Child's Imagination

October 04, 2008

The very act of telling a story (or reading one, or listening to one) engages the imagination as almost nothing else can.  And so it is that we find ourselves returning again and again to our teeming bookshelves for inspiration, imaginative or otherwise.  Whether for preschool story times or at bedtimes or quiet times at home, here are some of

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5 Things to Have in Your Dress-Up Bin, and How to Help Your Preschooler Choose a Halloween Costume

October 07, 2008

We love thinking about our little ones' wild and ever-churning imaginations and Halloween together. The holiday seems made-to-order for the preschooler mind (not to mention the preschooler sweet tooth). Dressing up on Halloween night, and for all the Halloween parties and parades that tend to precede it, is just an extension of our kids' constant

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