The greatest glory in life lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
– Nelson Mandela

In his wonderful book, The Power of Pretend, Mike Huber writes:

“We do children a disservice if we think of them as powerless. Perhaps they are if we view them from our adult world. But if we glimpse inside the world of their imagination, we can see their power is boundless, not in some distant future, but right here, right now, if we only take the time to look.”

He goes on to explain, “Pretend play allows children to practice executive function skills at a slightly more mature level than they might otherwise, or as child development theorist Lev Vygotsky put it, when children play, they are ‘a head taller.’ When children immerse themselves in a character they tend to stay regulated longer, maybe because they are slightly dissociated from themselves – ‘I’m not Mike, I’m Omega Supreme.’

“…Children engaged in power play illustrate this beautifully. The children are emotionally regulated even as they embody characters who are in conflict. They are playing out the emotions while not experiencing them. This allows them to use mental flexibility rather than getting stuck in a dysregulated state as they might if it were an actual conflict.”

On October 9, Nature Explore Child Development Specialists Kirsten Haugen and Mike Huber will lead a free one-hour conversation on how natural outdoor classrooms can support children’s pretend play, resilience, and self-regulation. Come ready to join the conversation! Learn more and register.