Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/fantasy-and-exploration-two-approaches-to-playing/5009948/
A group of parents started a cooperative child care program for their three year old children. They hired a teacher and together they transformed a basement into a play area equipped with books about kids and dragons; a make-believe corner with cups, dishes, spoons, dolls; and a drawing corner. Many of the children thrived. They spent lots of time in the make-believe corner playing house as they pretended to cook scrambled eggs and strawberry pudding. However, one child, Sam, often played on his own, exploring the objects - stacking the cups and saucers, making designs with them - rather than playing out dinner or restaurant games.Both the teacher and Sam's mother were concerned. In the back of their minds, they wondered whether Sam wasn't as imaginative as the other children. Because they believed that more fanciful play was more sophisticated than just playing with toys, they worried that Sam was slow to develop.
However, if they had taken a closer look at Sam's play, they would have discovered that his play did not reflect a deficit in his personality or his development but revealed his particular imaginative style.
Sam's mother and teacher weren't wrong to believe that ...