Fun pretend games to play

25 Pretend Play Ideas - Bright Star Kids

Do you have kids that love to pretend play? Pretend playing is good for their imagination, and develops vital social, language, thinking and emotional skills.

Here are some great pretend play ideas for you to try.

Why not turn some old cardboard boxes into a cubby house, decked with windows & a postbox like this one!

If your child loves making stories up, why not paint some pictures on stones & see what great stories they can come up with!

So easy to recreate with removable tape, create a town complete with buildings and roads where your child can drive their cars around on.

Create a town complete with buildings for your superheros & villains to live and fight their battles.

Little girls love to pretend they are fairies! Make a set of wings out of cardboard & let her paint, glue, stick or colour in her wings.

Using a crate or box, fill them with mailing tubes to make a pet hotel where your child’s stuffed toys can live. Your child can be the hotel manager!

For the little one that loves to play shops, create any type of shop with cube shelves and props.

It’s amazing what you can transform out of a cardboard box like this kitchen stove! You can even build a whole kitchen complete with fridge, microwave, sink & shelves from cardboard boxes!

Argh me hearties! It’d be time for some pirating fun!

Using an old shoe box, this school for lego figurines looks easy to whip up.

This construction scene looks like it will offer loads of fun for the budding builders!

If you have a child that loves writing letters and sorting, a family post office station might be the perfect play station.

Pretend playing isn’t only fun, it can teach little ones motor and letter recognition skills. Create an alphabet fishing game with a laundry basket, paper clip fishes & fishing rod with magnet.

Miniature worlds are so much fun! There are so many scenes you can create, like this dinosaur one. Hours of fun for little ones.

Kids love to re-enact adult life, even simple things like going to the ATM.

Make this cash register for your imaginary shop and let your kids learn all about numbers and quantities.

If you have a budding chef, let them (pretend to) cook dinner for their little friends.

Make this easy cardboard bed so that your child can put their doll or stuff toys to sleep. Great to nurture big brother or sister skills before the new arrival!

Do you have a child that loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? This easy dress up might be what they need to fight their future battles.

Is it every child’s dream to star in their own TV show or was it just mine?

Scenes can be so easily recreated with paint and old cardboard boxes like this My Little Pony rainbow scene.

Using an old cereal box, turn it into a doctors kit. Your child will love pretending to be a doctor.

What a cute idea to turn some figurines into mermaids with playdoh mermaid tails decorated with stones & gems.

Using old drink bottles to make a jetpack, your little one will fly from one adventure to the next.

Have hours of fun with these super hero cuffs made from toilet rolls.

Looking for some fun indoor activities to do with your little ones? We love these Weaving Art Ideas for a rainy day activity!

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14 Fun Pretend Games to Try With Your Kids

May 17, 2022 // by Eisha Mohsin

There are several advantages of incorporating pretend play games into your child's daily routine. Engaging in dramatic pretend play which has deep roots in reality not only helps hone social and emotional development but also teaches children how to problem solve and share. Role-playing allows children to simulate social situations by stepping into other peoples' shoes, which in turn helps develop empathy.

It is undoubtedly challenging to come up with not-so-extravagant pretend play ideas and activities for children. However, given the benefits of pretend play, it is definitely worth trying to come up with a list of children-centered activities and some fun games of pretend to keep your children occupied. Here are some ideas to get you started!

1. Santa's Elves Pretend Play

This creative game might end up being your child's favorite pretend play game this holiday season. All you'll need is:

An ordinary large-ish cardboard box
An assortment of smaller Amazon boxes- the more variety in terms of shape and size the better
A few sheets of wrapping Paper
Tape
Plastic Scissors
Stick on bows and Ribbons.

Once you've gathered all these materials together, the 'elves' can get to work in their gift factory. They can unleash their creativity by picking their own wrapping paper, right down to the color and pattern. They can then top it off with the accessories of their choice and display their creations beneath the Christmas tree! This activity is ideal for 4-year-old children since it requires minimal supervision and is a great way to test and develop fine motor skills.

2. Harry Potter for a day!

Enter the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter. Using a washable marker, draw on a lightning bolt scar. Buy cheap round plastic glasses and improvise a cape using an oversized jacket. Throw on a striped scarf. A long stick collected from the backyard can be used as a wand and viola, a wizard is born! The wizards/witches can now be tasked with thinking of and creating new spells. Make sure to react with a lot of enthusiasm as they demonstrate their newly learned spells!

3. Waiter/Waitress

Children can take turns being customers in a restaurant. Most playrooms will already have a plastic table and a few chairs lying around which can be utilized as the dining table. Throw in a small notebook for order taking and create a serving tray by putting some foil on a cardboard circle - other shapes such as rectangular cardboard cutouts will work just as well. If your child has a pretend stove pretend kitchen complete with pretend cutlery and plastic play food, that can be used to serve the dinner order. Alternatively, allow them to use paper cups and some plastic plates from your kitchen. Children can alternate between being the waiter and the patrons and enjoy a hearty meal together!

4. Beauty Salon

A classic pretend play idea, especially for girls. All you need is a chair and a mirror, some toy scissors, a bottle that sprays water, some child-safe lotion and nail polish. Children can take turns giving each other haircuts and pedicures.

5. Zookeeper

All you'll need in this pretend scenario is an empty shoebox and a set of plastic animals that can be purchased easily from the grocery shop. Children can use tape to separate all kinds of animals into their separate enclosures. Some recycled shredded paper can work as fake food. They can then bring their pre-existing dolls for a visit to the Zoo.

6. Florist

Get a bunch of different artificial flowers from the store and cut and separate the bunches so that you have a variety of individual flowers. Alternatively, if you have access to a garden, you can go on a stroll and pick some wildflowers.

Get your child's creative juices flowing by asking them to create aesthetically pleasing floral bouquets which can easily be secured by using rubber bands. Friends and family can come to visit this pretend flower shop and buy a bouquet of their choosing!

Learn more: Pinterest

7. Daycare

Set up a pretend daycare for all your child's dolls or action figures. Ask your child to plan different activities to keep the "children" occupied. There can be snack time, nap time, playtime, and storytime, for example. Children love to emulate their parents when it comes to nurturing others. This dramatic play scene is bound to enhance their emotional skills as well as keep them constructively occupied.

8. Window Washer

This is a great activity for younger kids. Get a small bucket and fill it up with water. Next, get a squeegee or a rag. Let them dip and clean the window or mirror. This is a great opportunity for sensory play as well!

Learn more: Play to Learn Preschool

9. Tattoo Artist

Allow your child to create "tattoos" for you or her friends/siblings. Again, this activity is easily doable using things already available at home such as felt tip markers, pens, stickers, and paints!

10. Toy Hospital

Learn more: Fairy Poppins

11. Housekeeper

Let your child play housekeeper for the day. Most floor mops can be adjusted to the height of the child. This is a great excuse to clean up and organize the house while still making it fun.

12. Theatre

Get your child and his siblings/friends to pick a book. Get them to read the book as a group, and then assign everyone a character. The children then get to act out the book in front of an audience, building their language skills and social interaction capabilities.

Learn more: American Theatre

13. Pizza Maker

14. Postman

Talk to your neighbors and see if they'll allow your child to collect and deliver their mail on their behalf. People are generally cooperative since it saves them the hassle of getting their mail. Failing that, save some of your own mail and have your child deliver it to family and friends who live nearby and have agreed to play along.

Learn more: Play Curiously

Category: Classroom Ideas

90,000 11 best games on the road - as much as you can in Cities! - magazine Behind the wheel

I put in my backpack, Forbidden words, The best day of life, Numbers with meaning and other non-banal entertainment.

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Anyone who loves to travel with the whole family knows that five minutes after the start, the children begin to languish. Of course, for a while they can be distracted by a phone or tablet, put on a selection of songs, turn on Children's Radio or an audiobook. You can stock up on children's crossword puzzles in advance and guess them together. But after some time, this will get boring, the children will want more active entertainment, and then you will need to turn on your imagination.

Fun games on the go are uplifting, and it's great if the whole family is involved.

I see what you don't see

The rules are simple. The host marks (for himself) an object in the field of view of travelers, and the task of the players is to guess it by asking a minimum of questions. Moreover, only “yes” or “no” answers are allowed. Warning: the game is addictive.

Guess people or animals

Begins: "I think you know him." And then, for example: "This animal can fly." And with the help of leading questions, you need to guess what kind of animal it is. Alternatively, you can guess someone from your family or friends. For example, this person wears glasses. The question is when do you read? Yes. The next question is is it old? No. Does he have children? Yes. That is, in this case, the answers can also be only “yes” or “no”.

Guess the song

The players alternately hum or whistle the song. Others guess its name or artist. Whoever recognizes the song first wins. Children's songs, famous pop singles, whatever musical memory has to offer will do. At the end, the guessed song can be sung together - this will cheer everyone up.

Hit Parade

Together you are looking for a song that everyone knows. For example, "Let the pedestrians run clumsily through the puddles." The parent assigns in what mood you should perform it. For example, sad or cheerful, in the style of a march or hip-hop. Who won? Yes, who will come out funnier, although here is the case when the process is more important than victory.

I'm putting in my backpack...

The first player starts with "I'm putting in my backpack..." and comes up with something, like a hairbrush. The next player repeats the item of the first player and adds his own - a comb and a bottle of water. The one who forgets at least one of the previous items will lose. True, it is advisable for the host to keep a list so as not to make a mistake.

Forbidden words

"Don't take white and black, don't say 'yes' and 'no'." There is a leader and there is a player. The task of the presenter is to force the player to say forbidden words, and it is important for the player not to let it slip for as long as possible. Questions should be asked tricky, for example, it can be difficult to evasively answer the question: "What color is sugar?" or “Tell me, do you really like ice cream?” Alas, sooner or later the player lets slip, the main thing is to deftly lull his vigilance! If a word is accidentally said, the players switch roles. For reference, the first question can be answered: "The same as printer paper."

In the classic version of the game, it always started with the question: "Will you go to the ball?", but today's children may not know about balls, so you can ask any questions.

The best day of their lives

The children are asked one by one to describe how they see the best day of their lives. A serving of chocolate ice cream for breakfast instead of porridge, and then jumping on the bed to exhaustion. Then dress up and go to an amusement park, ride a ferris wheel there, go to an upside down house, eat your fill of french fries, ride a pony, and end the day in a cafe where you can get three cream cakes and a big vanilla cocktail. Or is your child's ideal day completely different? The long journey is a great opportunity to learn about it. You may be very surprised by its history, and some dreams can be realized already on vacation - at least about ice cream.

Your color

Here each player names their favorite color and then looks for it in things around. The first one to find ten objects of this color is the winner.

"Scary" stories

In the "black-black room sat a black-black man" - do you remember? Let's create stories together. The host tells the end of the story, others guess how it happened. Example: there are red shoes in the meadow, they are stained with mud, but their hostess is not around. What happened to her? This is more suitable for children 5-7 years old and older, the kids will not understand and may be scared.

Vehicle signs

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10 ways to entertain your child (and yourself) on the road

And this is a game for schoolchildren: all participants receive a piece of paper and a pencil. Now they have about 10 minutes to look at the license plates of cars passing along the road. Everyone writes down five numbers of their choice without telling the other players. Then one of the adults tells the children the numbers of the cars that he sees himself. If the child already has such letters and numbers, he crosses them out of his piece of paper. Whoever crosses everything out first wins!

Or another option: you keep looking at license plates of passing cars and trying to make sentences out of them. It often turns out funny, even the baby "gets infected" and laughs along with the older children. For example: N *** TV - "You must be lying!" or M *** SK - “Misha is a super pump!” The winner is the one who quickly comes up with a coherent and funny phrase.

Who will be the first to see

And this is fun for very, very little ones. It is unpretentious - "whoever sees it first" on the road or along it. For example, a red car or a dog, a grandmother with a wand or a mother with a stroller. And believe me, this is also very exciting, especially if you say the terms funny and show them with facial expressions and gestures.

In general, it is important to choose the game that suits the age and character of your child. Good mood and fun tireless journey!

If you enjoy other games on the road, tell us about them in the comments. Let's make the second part of the publication!

Photo: Depositphotos

10 yard games our children don't know about

June 12Life

"Cossacks-robbers", "Frog", "12 sticks" and more.

Iya Zorina

Author of Lifehacker, athlete, CCM

You can listen to the short version of the article. If it's more convenient for you, turn on the podcast.

1. Baker

This game has many names: "King", "Pop", "Klyok", "Sticks", "Banks" and others. It will require an asphalt platform measuring approximately 10 × 6 meters or a flat piece of land on which it will be possible to draw markings.

The following items are also required:

Sticks or bats.
Tin can. You can replace it with a plastic bottle or a wooden chock.
Marking chalk if the game is played on an asphalt court.

First you need to prepare the field. To do this, the site is divided into two parts:

Long - "house". This is where the players will stand.
Short - field. Here the driver will act - the "baker".

In the "house" you need to make a markup - 2 meters from the border and then draw parallel lines every meter and sign them:

Line 1 - "marshal" or "ace".
Line 2 - "general" or "king".
Line 3 - Colonel or Lady.
Line 4 - major or jack.
Line 5 - "captain" or "pawn 3".
Line 6 - "Sergeant" or "Pawn 2".
Line 7 - “soldier” or “pawn 1”.

There are quite a lot of variants of names, but in all of them there is a hierarchy: the closer to the dividing line, the higher the rank or title.

At a distance of 2 meters from the border, a circle is drawn, in which a ryuha is placed - a tin or plastic can. Sometimes it is also placed on a brick.

Children choose a driver - "baker" and determine the order of throws. To do this, the players put one end of the stick on the toe of the foot, and the other end rests on the palm, after which they push it into the distance with their foot. Whose flew the farthest, knocks down the ryuha first, whose closest - becomes the "baker".

The driver takes a position on the “field” next to the bank, the players stand in the “house”, behind the farthest line. The children take turns throwing sticks, trying to knock out the ryuha. If the projectile flies past, then it remains to lie where it fell. If the throw succeeds and the ryuha flies out of the circle, the "baker" returns it to its place, and the accurate player gets a promotion - the next time he will throw from the "sergeant" line.

When all the sticks are thrown, the assault begins: the players cross the border and run into the "field" for the sticks. It is allowed to raise only one’s own, you can’t touch strangers, otherwise you can become a “baker”.

In order to return to the "home" with their stick, the players need to knock down the fluff - this is a prerequisite. If one of the participants manages to knock it out of the circle, the “baker” runs after the jar and puts it in its place, and at this time all players can return to the “house”.

At the same time, the “baker” prevents the ryuha from being knocked out. His task at this moment is to taunt any player with his stick and then knock down the fluff himself, in some cases you also need to name the tagged person while knocking the can out of the circle. If he succeeds, the salted one becomes a "baker".

There are many variants of the game in which the obtained titles give not only the ability to throw from a closer distance, but also some privileges during the assault, for example:

"King" can only be salted without a stick, and if he has already picked it up - no. If the "lady" is caught, she can choose any "jack" in the "bakers".
Each rank has its weak point. For example, a “soldier” can be hit in any place, a “major” only on the back, a “general” on the legs, and a “marshal” is generally invulnerable.
A "marshal" or "ace" can assign tasks to others, such as throwing a stick in a certain way or moving on one leg during combat.
Throwing methods change with each round. First, they are carried out from the side, as in the towns, then - from behind the head, on one knee, and so on.

2. Twelve sticks

For this game you will need a ball, a flat board about 50 cm long and 10-15 cm wide and small sticks. There should be as many of them as there are players. And if there are 8 children, despite the name of the game, there will be the same number of sticks.

The board is set on a brick in the manner of a swing, so that one end of it rests on the ground and the other end is suspended. With the help of a counting rhyme or lot, children choose a driver.

At the end of the board, resting on the ground, all sticks are added. After that, one of the players abruptly steps on the other side of it, so that the objects scatter around. While the driver collects the sticks, all the children scatter and hide.

Then the search begins. If the driver finds the player, he drops out for a while, and this continues until he finds all those hiding.

In this case, at any time, a player who has not yet been caught can emerge from his shelter and break the already stacked sticks. Then all the children who left the game scatter and hide again. But if at the same time the driver manages to catch the stick on the fly, the one who broke it becomes water.

There is also another version of the game - with a ball. Players do not hide, but simply scatter and at the same time they can hide behind some shelters - trees, verandas, and so on. The driver catches up with them and taunts them, throwing the ball. Those who are hit go to the sticks and wait for the end of the game. However, an uncaptured player can also smash the sticks, freeing comrades.

3. Tally

Photo: Ron / Pexels

The point of the regular tally is to catch up and touch another player.

To begin with, a leader is selected with the help of a counter. Then the children stand in a circle and, at the command “I am a tag!” scatter in all directions. Often, the boundaries of the site are also specified, beyond which it is impossible to go.

If the driver catches up with one of the participants and touches him, the person caught becomes the new driver and the game continues.

If there are many children, you can play by different rules. The driver, having caught up with one of them, does not become an ordinary player, but continues to hunt for others along with the first one who has been stung. This continues until everyone is caught.

There are several more options for catching up.

With a "house" - a zone is specified in advance in which the driver does not have the right to taunt the players. It can be a sandbox or just a circle on the pavement where children can relax. But sitting there for a long time is not allowed, because the game will become uninteresting.
Above the feet - to avoid tagging, you can jump on some kind of elevation, while tearing off your feet from the surface.
"Tea-tea, help me out!" - when the driver salutes one of the players, he freezes and shouts: "Tea-tea, help me out!". If another participant touches him, he unfreezes and continues the game, but the driver tries with all his might to prevent this. The goal is to make all players freeze.
"Sifa" - in this version, the salat is not with a hand, but with a "sifa" - a rag twisted with a rope. The one they hit becomes the leader.

4. Rubber band

This game requires a 3-4 meter long elastic band, the two ends of which are tied together. The number of players starts with three: two pull the elastic between themselves, throwing it on their feet, and the third jumps over in the given order.

There are several options for the location of the elastic:

at the level of the ankles of the holders;
at knee level;
at hip level;
waist;
at chest level and around the neck.

On each of them you need to perform a certain set of exercises: “runners”, “steps”, “bow”, “envelope”, “boat” and so on. The video below shows some of them.

5. Cossack robbers

The rules of the game depend on the region and are often greatly simplified. One thing is invariable: the participants are divided into two teams - "Cossacks" and "robbers". “Atamans” are immediately selected and the battlefield is determined within which the game will take place.

Then there is time for preparation - about 15 minutes. The "Cossacks" equip the "dungeon" - a place where they will bring prisoners. The “robbers” come up with a password and scatter, leaving arrows in their path with chalk on the asphalt and walls or with a stick on the ground.

As a rule, tips are drawn every 20–30 meters and be sure to make marks at turns and intersections.

Photo: MabelAmber / Pixabay

At the appointed time, the “Cossacks” set out to look for the “robbers”, following the arrows. If the player is touched, he becomes a prisoner. "Cossack" escorts him to the "dungeon", holding his hand. If contact is lost, the "robber" can run away. Also, comrades can help him out if they attack the guard and taunt him.

If everything went well and the "robber" was taken to the "dungeon", the "Cossacks" "torture" him, trying to find out the secret cipher. As a rule, something harmless, such as tickling, is used as methods.

The game continues until the "Cossacks" catch all the "robbers" or find out the secret word.

6. Ring-to-ring

This game requires a small item such as a hair clip, ring or coin.

Children sit in a row, stretch their arms out in front of them and fold their palms like a boat. The leader clamps the object between his palms and takes turns moving from one to another player, saying: “I wear, I wear a ring and I will give it to someone.”

At the moment when he passes his hands between the clasped hands of other children, he must pass the object to one of them as discreetly as possible. At the same time, the child who has the thing tries not to show that he received a gift.

When the entire row of children has been passed, the phrase is said: “Ring-ring, go out on the porch”. After these words, the one who received the item should jump up and run to the leader. The other kids will hold on to it.

If they succeed, the leader remains the same and the game starts again. If the participant was able to escape, he leads in the next round.

7. Hopscotch

Photo: Kathas_Fotos / Pixabay

This game requires a flat paved area, chalk for marking and a cue ball - a pebble, a candy box or something similar. There must be two or more players.

To begin with, a rectangular field is drawn on the site with 10 squares and a semicircle (“cauldron”, “water”, “fire”).

Different marking options for the game "Classics"

The player throws the cue ball into the first square, and then jumps across the field according to the following rules: all single cells, except for the fifth, are on one leg, all doubles are on two, the fifth is also on two, to relax.

Having jumped to the end, the player turns 180° and returns in the same way, and on the first square he bends down and picks up the cue ball left there. If the child steps on the line or the pebble flies out of the cell, the turn passes to the next player.

If, however, he managed to jump to the end, the player "transfers to the second class" - throws the cue ball immediately to the second square, jumps according to the same rules and takes the object on the way back.

If an item accidentally flies into the "cauldron", the player loses one class from the conquered. The one who completes all levels wins.

There is also a more complex variation of the game, in which you need to move the cue ball with your foot after each jump into the square. In this case, the field will look a little different (as in the picture on the right).

There may also be different types of jumps: only on one leg, only on two, toe forward or sideways - as the children decide. From the tenth square, the cue ball just needs to be knocked out of the playing field.

8. Elephants

Players are divided into two teams - “elephants” and “riders”. The first become a chain, bending in half and sticking their head under the arm of the person in front.

The horsemen take turns trying to saddle the elephant. To do this, the player runs up, leans his hands on the first person in the chain and jumps over him, like over a goat in physical education, trying to fly as far as possible. He is followed in turn by all the other children from the team.

When all riders have mounted the "elephant", he must go a specified distance - for example, cross a line, go around an obstacle or reach a landmark.

If one of the "riders" could not resist and slipped to the ground in the process of jumping or moving a live chain, the "elephants" win, and the teams change places.

If, under the weight of jumping people, the living structure falls apart or cannot carry the “riders” to the right place, the “riders” win and the game starts anew.

9. King of the Hill

This game is more suitable for winter time, when large snowy mountains grow in the yards. Having found a suitable one, the players line up and, on command, begin to climb to the top.

Whoever gets there first becomes the king of the hill and pushes the rest of the players, preventing them from climbing. The rest of the children, in turn, are trying to overthrow him and take pride of place.

The game can also be played by splitting into teams and adding snowballs.

10. Frog

A line is drawn on the wall below which the ball cannot be thrown. Players line up in a row, one after another. The first throws the ball, it hits the wall, bounces off it and touches the ground - it is at this moment that the player must jump over it.

Then the next participant picks up the ball, repeating the same thing, and so on in a circle. The one who fails to jump over receives the letter as punishment: l, i, g, y, w, k, a. Collected everything? You are a frog!