Week 4 – Adults’ role in play

The article by Pellegrini and Jones, Play, toys, and language, fascinates me because they used language to provide insights on children’s play, which could be an interesting way of evaluating toys including apps. In several places in this article, the authors talked about how adults, including teachers and parents, could inhibit fantasy play and the use of imaginative language. Although it’s not surprising to me, it raises interesting questions: (1) what should be the role of adults in play? (2) how to design children’s play experience that has educational values?