FREE Pretend Play Resources and Units

Published:
April 7, 2021

Sarah Shelton

Contributor:
Sarah Shelton

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My children have always loved to play pretend. They would spend hours being creative with things they would find around the house. They would turn the entire living room into a dog grooming salon, a pet store or an ice cream shop. This kind of pretend play would keep them busy all day long and give me a much needed break at times!

Free Pretend Play Resources & Units text and image of a child playing astronaut with a cardboard box

Pretend play can be super annoying to the parent, especially if you are home with your child all day long. Creativity is not always the cleanest past time. There have been many days when I would walk into a room and see close to 100 stuffed animals and pillows, and chairs and blankets scattered across my entire living room!

When there weren’t enough blankets to accompany each stuffed animal, my children had to improvise. I was shocked to see that they had taken an entire box of Kleenex and pulled out all the tissues. They had given each stuffed animal their own individual Kleenex tissue blanket. An entire box of Kleenex was being used as a play item!

Just looking at the mess would send me running into the next room to escape it all! What were they thinking?!?!

After further inspection, I saw that it wasn’t just pillows and blankets and stuffed animals. And 100 sheets of tissues scattered about. All of my children were playing together quietly. They had created an entire animal shelter and adoption center. Each animal had their own pillow and blanket or tissue to keep them warm and help them to feel safe. 

Why pretend play is important:

Playing pretend is essential for children because it helps them to develop their social, emotional, and cognitive skills.

It helps them explore the world around them and interact in ways they wouldn’t be able to act anywhere else.

Pretend play can help to alleviate stress and help your child to be calm and relaxed. It helps them to get along with the people they are playing with. They have to come up with ways to keep the play going and solve problems together.

Playing pretend keeps them happy, busy and creative at the same time. It is perfect when you have multiple children that you have to homeschool.

If you are looking for some imaginative fun for your little ones you are going to love these pretend play resources and units for your homeschool!

FREE Pretend Play Resources and Units:

Restaurants, Stores and Places in Town:

These Pretend Play Writing Printables from Pre Kinders are perfect for dramatic play centers. There are printables for writing checks, shopping lists, calendars, writing down messages, play money and more!

Pretend Play Writing Printables

Zoo Pretend PlayThree Chickadees

Restaurant Dramatic PlayPre-K Pages

Pretend Play Preschool Ice Cream StoreSpell Out Loud

How to Create a Pretend Play AirportThe Littles and Me

Movie Theater Pretend PlayResearch Parent

Printable ID Cards and LicensesItsy Bitsy Fun

Pet Store Dramatic PlayPocket of Preschool

Grocery Store Pretend Play PrintablesHomeschool Share

FREE Grocery Store Pretend Play Printables from Homeschool Share

Camping Pretend PlayWhere Imagination Grows

Dramatic Play Coffee ShopInspired Motherhood

Printable Library Cards for PlayClementine Creative

Pretend Library Play SetLearn Create Love

Hot Chocolate Stand Pretend PlayFrom ABCs to ACTs

Hair Salon Dramatic PlayPre-Kinders

Bakery Pretend PlayLife Over Cs

Bakery Pretend Play Free Printables text with background image of a game for counting money

Community Helper and Career Play:

Post Office Dramatic PlayTeaching Mama

Doctor Pretend Play PrintablesKids Activities Blog

Fire Station Dramatic PlayPocket of Preschool

Dentist Office Dramatic PlayPreK Printable Fun

Veterinary Printables and Pretend Play 

Veterinary Printables and Pretend Play text with image of a boy dressed in scrubs and playing doctor with a stuffed teddy bear

Weather and Meteorologist Station Pretend PlayEarly Learning Ideas

Create a Doctor Dramatic Play AreaEarly Learning Ideas

Police Pretend Play and PrintablesLiving Montessori Now

Hospital Dramatic PlayPlay to Learn

Free Pretend Play Resources & Units text with image of a child playing astronaut with a cardboard box

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