Types of Play 1
Form of play in which a single child imitates another person or acts out a situation.
Child watches other children playing. Child may talk to others playing, but does not become involved
Onlooker behavior
During this stage, the child will use the prop as intended while playing with other children
Functional Stage
Julie is playing hopscotch by herself
S
Matt and Megan are both playing in the sandbox. Matt is making mud soup. Megan is building
a castle. They share the funnel and bucket but do not say too much to each other except to
ask for the funnel or bucket.
Parallel Play
Giving human traits to nonliving objects.
personification
Child not involved in any particular activity. Child is walking around, looking around, playing with fingers, hair, etc.
unoccupied/uninvolved
A child at this stage handles props
Manipulative Stage
Tommy and Tim are playing on the computers next to each other
Ted is playing shopkeeper. Sue and Pam come to buy groceries. They select the food they
want and go to the cash register. Ted asks them for money. They do not have enough money
to pay for the groceries. They discuss how they can get the food they need.
Cooperative play & Socio-dramatic play
A type of play which allows children to learn about their world
Pretend
Children play beside each other, but not with each other. No interaction, but toys are similar
parallel
Children in this stage do not need real props. They think of substitutes.
Imaginative Stage
Aaron, Sierra, and Jim are all at the art table. They are all making Valentine’s Day cards.
A
Carrie is walking around the block area. She fiddles with her dress. She continues to the art
table and sits down. She gets back up and walks to the library.
Unoccupied Play
Involves several children imitating others and acting out situations together.
Socio-Dramatic play
First type of social play where children interact with one another while engaging in a similar activity. The play is loosely organized. Each child does what he/she wishes, but is part of a large group
Associative
Jerry is acting like a detective. He does not have a magnifying glass, but is using a bubble blower stick. What stage of material use is Jerry engaging in?
Imaginative
Tara, Kelly, and Maggie are all playing house. Tara and Kelly are pretending to be the parents and Maggie is the baby. They talk about what they are going to cook for dinner.
C
Joey sits with the children in the book block area. He watches Tom and Tim stack the blocks to
form a castle. Joey asks the 2 boys “how high are you making that castle?” Joey watches the 2
boys stack the blocks higher and higher.
Onlooker Play
When a child places feelings and emotions he or she feels onto the puppet.
projection
Play between two or more children where they interact with one another. Socio-dramatic play begins. Involves organization and child is part of a group that has a specific purpose
Cooperative
A child is using a fake bottle to feed a doll.
Functional stage
Tina and Gina are playing fairy dress-up. They walk around the room together once they have their outfits on.
A or C
Jillian picks up a blond-haired puppet and pretends to talk to the puppet. She asks the puppet
why it is sad. They puppet says because the other girls are not playing with her.
Projection