Play Mash-Up
Combine play themes to guide solitary play into group play.
Learning Seeds Engagement Strategies
Comic Strip by Cynthia Yuan Cheng
Challenging Moment: When individuals are focused on their own separate play themes, they may have limited willingness to join in fuller group pretend play with peers.
A Strategy to Try: Play Mash-Up
Coach children to “mash up” their play ideas by identifying novel roles in a combined play theme. Children can find space for each individual’s idea in a new narrative that calls upon each participant’s flexibility and imagination. The mashed-up play theme is bound to be richer, more entertaining, and more fun.
What Happens: Solitary individuals are guided into a shared experience with their peers. Each member of the group is given an opportunity to exercise and expand their imagination, as well as their compromise and collaboration skills.
