It seems like a simple game of house, but why is it one of the most valued abilities in American kindergartens?

You may still remember that this year I took Su Bao to participate in a parent-child experience class in a kindergarten here in New York. Parenting classes are for babies under 3 years old to help children and parents become familiar with the school’s teaching methods and environment so that they can decide whether to apply for admission to the kindergarten in the future. I remember when I visited this kindergarten for the first time, I saw a complete toy kitchen in the classroom, with three or four children \”cooking\”, and a special doll area with wardrobes, shoe cabinets, and dining tables for the dolls. Everything is ready. The two little girls are holding mini bottles and thermometers, taking the baby\’s temperature, combing her hair, feeding the baby with bottles, and taking good care of it. The principal accompanying me may have noticed my surprise, and promptly explained that they provided the children with a lot of props for playing house, because playing house is a very important experience in the cognitive development of kindergarten children. After visiting the kindergarten that day, I specifically chatted with the principal for a while. She patiently answered a lot of questions for me, and also talked about why \”playing house\” is a very important part of the American kindergarten curriculum. Understanding the world and cultivating the awareness of fine motor and imaginative play may appear between 18-24 months. This is an important milestone in the baby\’s cognitive development. At this time, the baby will begin to imitate the behaviors of adults, such as making phone calls, cleaning, washing dishes, etc. I remember that when Su Bao was 18 months old, she once fed blueberries to her stuffed rabbit while imitating a chirping sound. This kind of spontaneous play behavior that imitates real-life scenes is actually playing house, which is called \”Pretend Play\” in English. The act of pretend play is your baby\’s observation, understanding and practice of how the world works – for example, blueberries are eaten in the mouth and make a squeaking sound. Playing house requires a lot of fine motor skills and can train hand-eye coordination very well. In addition, I found that while playing house exercised fine motor and language cognition, it also gave Su Bao a lot of room for imagination. She felt that the toy rabbit could talk. While feeding the rabbit, she role-played and said, \”It\’s delicious.\” ,tasty. Adults guide this way: after the baby is one year old, provide her with some props for playing house, such as toys for cutting fruits and vegetables. When I cook, I usually encourage Su Bao to use his own props and \”cut vegetables and cook\” with me. If your baby shows signs of playing house, remember to ask more questions. For example, if you see a child feeding a bear, an adult can ask the baby, what does your bear like to eat? Before the enlightenment of leadership, love and empathy can walk, the baby\’s role is that of a weakling who relies on adults. I bought Su Bao a rag doll when she was about 1 and a half years old (not a Barbie doll. Barbie dolls with unrealistic and adult body proportions may not be suitable for babies). She likes to \”arrange\” the dolls to do this and that, such as dancing together, sitting in rows together, and drinking tea together. Once, Su Bao’s doll fell to the ground. She picked it up, held it in her arms, and said softly: Don’t worry, I got you. This was the first time I observed Su Bao learning to “take care of people.” I knelt down and asked her, baby wrestlingYet? She touched the baby\’s head and said: It hurts from the fall. Su Bao\’s process of comforting the doll is the same as his parents usually comfort her. Su Bao began to realize that \”other people\” would feel pain when they fell, just like him. This kind of behavior is actually the bud of empathy and an affirmation of the beautiful feelings between people. In this process, Su Bao gradually discovered that he was not a weak baby. He could also take care of others, understand them, and make arrangements and arrangements. These experiences were all a process of building self-confidence. Adults guide this way: Don’t think that playing house is an exclusive game for girls. In fact, boys participating in playing house can also exercise their love and leadership. These abilities should be possessed by both boys and girls. After one and a half years old, every child should have someone to take care of, which can be a doll or a toy that the child likes. When Su Bao is eating snacks and playing games, I will consciously ask her if she wants to invite the doll to eat and play together. Gradually, Su Bao will establish an emotional connection with her \”care object\”. Recently, when we read picture books, Su Bao would take out her favorite stuffed animals and put them next to her, and listen to the story together. Understand the social order and learn to get along with others. A very popular game among American children is called tea party. 2-4 children sit around and use props to drink tea and eat snacks. Su Bao has also become obsessed with this game recently. Every time he goes to kindergarten, he will have a tea party with his friends. But here comes the problem. All the children participating in the game are two or three years old, and every child wants to bring a teapot. When pouring water, disputes will inevitably arise. There is a two-year-old girl named Chloe in Su Bao\’s class. Every time she plays this game, she takes all the props into her hands and is very resistant to sharing. When this happens, American kindergarten teachers usually give the children some time to solve the problem on their own. But when the problem cannot be solved, the teacher will intervene. There are two teachers in Su Bao\’s class. They will show the children how to share a tea set and how to take turns playing. After one semester, Chloe has made great progress. Not only does she no longer snatch toys, she also learns to actively distribute tea sets to other children. Adults guide this way: When your baby is 2-3 years old, he may show interest in playing house with other children. This is a great opportunity for children to learn about human interaction. On the one hand, adults provide rich props (for example, if three children play, it is best to have three tea sets), on the other hand, they should pay attention to the children\’s interaction process, and when there is friction between the children that cannot be resolved, they should intervene in time and Use this friction to teach children that sharing, interaction, and cooperation are the starting points for good interpersonal relationships. Learn to solve problems and build advanced thinking skills. I remember when I first visited Su Bao Kindergarten, there was a toy stall selling lemon juice in the top class classroom. It looked like this: At that time, two children aged four or five were playing the role of \” In the role of \”stall owner\”, the boy is responsible for making lemonade, and the girl is responsible for \”collecting money\”. While setting up the stall, the \”stall owner\” discussed with his partners when to start selling and which fruits should be placed in which basket. After a while, several children will come aroundThey queued up to \”buy\” lemon juice. The stall owner introduced his lemon juice category to them in a serious manner, and even offered a \”buy one, get one free\” offer. Although it was a very short observation, I found that the two children learned very well in this process how to make plans, how to make overall arrangements, and how to understand and accept opinions that are different from their own. These are all valuable abilities that play house can give children. Adults guide this way: For children after the age of 3, adults can help them set up situations and ask more advanced questions when playing house. For example, how should the furniture be arranged in a dollhouse? Three toys play house with the baby, but there are only two portions of food. How should they be divided? Playing house, a seemingly childish game, had never attracted my attention before. After truly experiencing an American kindergarten, I discovered that there is more knowledge in it than I imagined. In fact, many behaviors in adult society, such as dinner parties and business cooperation, are not an advanced model of playing house? In the process of playing house, the baby learns empathy, rules, cooperation, and thinking, which are the cornerstones needed for the construction of future personality and thinking.