Thoughts for the Week:

Some people talk about play as if it were a relief from serious learning; but, for children, play is serious business. It provides a way for them to express strong feelings about important events in their lives. Play gives children a chance to work out problems on their own, to cope with anxieties, and to prepare for life as an adult by pretending about being grown up. Through play, children discover the world and learn more about themselves.

When given the opportunity, children tend to choose playthings that suit their developmental needs. You may have seen a young child put aside a newly acquired toy in favor of the empty carton or the brightly colored wrapping paper. A child may spend a long time playing happily with an empty cereal carton, or banging on a metal pot with a wooden spoon. That's because young children's imaginations are engaged by almost everything they see. In the same way, it's often rewarding for older children to make their own playthings out of everyday household things. That way they can be imaginative and involved in making the toys as well as in playing with them.