Peers, Props, and Play: A Preliminary Examination of Child-Initiated Pretend Play and Early Academic Skills

This pilot study is a preliminary investigation of the relationship between complexity of self-directed pretend play by preschool children and early academic skills two years later. Preschool children (n = 19), age 3;0 years, were observed during self-initiated independent free play, which was then coded for complexity of symbolic thought with respect to symbolic agent (ability to direct self or other’s play), symbolic substitution (abstractness of props), and symbolic complexity (thematic and interrelated actions). Literacy and numeracy skills were assessed concurrently and two years later when children were 5;0 years of age and attending kindergarten. We found that children who directed others’ play at 3;0 years, compared to children who focused on their own play, had better mathematics achievement at 5;0 years. In addition, children who engaged in more complex object substitutions (abstract props) had better counting at 3;0 years and better early reading skills at 5;0 years than their peers who showed fewer complex substitutions. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that suggests encouraging specific aspects of pretend play in preschool might be a relatively simple way to support early academic achievement.