What sensory & intellectual devolpment do children get from pretend play?

Question

What sensory & intellectual devolpment do children get from pretend play?

Answer 1

pretend play has all sorts of benefits. children can improve their listening and speaking skills, they can learn new words, learn new behaviors (manners, etc.), help connect words to ideas so children understand what they are learning. pretend play also improves a child's social skills, how to share/get along with others, how to address people of different ages.

as for sensory development, pretend play can help the children to learn colors, different scents, sounds, different textures, sweet/sour of foods, and anything you can, see, hear, smell, touch or taste

all in all pretend play is a great way for children (especially in preschools) to learn in a fun and very productive way!

Answer 2

they learn what to do in that situation when it's real... like a practice...you always have a rehearsal before the recital. Say they are playing house with a fake kitchen set. They know the bread goes in the oven, the pot goes on the stove, the milk goes in the fridge... when the oven beeps the bread is done (they have some that tell you where things go... eg. if you put the milk in the oven it would say 'that goes in the refrigerator' or when the bread is done 'mmm fresh warm bread')

Answer 3

They try on roles; they develop language skills; they learn to organize their play; they learn social skills; they use and manipulate the props.

Answer 4

Courtney gave a great answer.  The answer is actually endless and only limited by what is facilitated for them.  I would add ,to sensory/intellectual.... emotional, cultural,creative, physical etc. The "pretend play" is unique in that it is not reliant on the teacher for its success other than some minor facilitation.  Look up items called "self stories" or "dramatic play" for examples of this. The other big bonus (for me) is that there is no outcome for success/failure imposed on the play.  Intrinsic, autonomous and creative would be the words that come to mind first when describing this.