Teaching Imitation During Playtime

Modeling During Pretend Play

· Preparing and cooking play food with pots, tools, and utensils – stir with spoon, flip food, cut play food or playdough, model polite words/signs and refusals

· Serving play food with dishes and utensils – set table, eat or serve food with or without utensils, drink or pour from a cup, model polite words/signs and refusals

· Caring for a baby doll – feed, bathe, dress, groom, rock, or soothe it, have it vocalize or talk

· Play with plastic or stuffed animals – have them move, eat, sleep, or vocalize

· Play with cars and trucks – drive, crash, fill them with fuel, have them make noise

Modeling Play Actions with Toys

· When working with toys that are new to your child, model a single play action, then build sequences of play actions. For example, when using a ball and hammer tower, place the ball, and model hitting the ball with the hammer. Continue replacing the ball, and having your child imitate hitting the ball with the hammer. Next, model placing the ball, then hammering it. Give your child the ball to imitate placing it and then hitting it.

· Model appropriate toy use. Reinforcement of appropriate toy use teaches your child new play skills. Some examples:

--If your child throws blocks, model stacking them.

--If your child throws cars, model driving them.

--If your child kicks toys, model kicking a ball.

--If your child uses toys to hit, model using a hammer toy.

Modeling Fine Motor & Pre-Writing Skills

· Color and draw with your child. Model an appropriate pencil grasp as you draw lines and shapes. Use a variety of materials such as broken crayons and fine point markers.

· Use your index finger to model drawing lines or shapes in finger paint, corn starch, or sand on a tray or in a zippered plastic bag.

· Model building a tower using small blocks of multiple colors. Add challenge by incorporating a pattern.

· Model using playdough tools or rolling playdough to make balls and snakes. Model making holes in the playdough by poking it using straws, golf tees, or your fingertips.