This lively how-to guide contains more than 100 activities and games that parents, teachers, and other adults can use to stimulate the imagination and sense of play in children between the ages of 2 and 5. Along with these games, the authors describe the importance of imaginative play during the early years, including its contribution to happiness and self-confidence, and its vital role in the development of cognitive, emotional, social, creative, and physical skills. From the Introduction:Both parents and teachers will find that the games in this book can help children learn how to expand their imaginations. Children with a repertoire of make-believe play skills are more self-reliant and demand less of your time as they follow their own creative direction with a game, embellishing it with details and making up new variations. The general benefits of imaginative play are discussed in chapter 1, "What Make-Believe Can Do for Children," and the specific benefits of focused activity areas, such as motor, sensory, and role-playing, are presented at the beginning of each activity chapter.