Pretend Play Among 3 Year Olds

This book was written by a group of researchers with a common theoretical-constructivist-framework and using the same methods of naturalistic observation and data analysis. They considered that collective pretend play would provide excellent opportunities for understanding young children's thinking, especially when play arose spontaneously in a familiar environment. In such play, children often manifest types of knowledge that cannot be captured through experimental work or by observation in adult-devised situations. Spontaneous play brings out children's own preoccupations, their know-how in negotiating with one another in order to make sustained play possible, their ability to construct coherent sequences, and their often surprising insight into adult behavior.