Face painting is a great way to enhance your little one's pretend play - by painting their faces they can become a tiger, dog, fairy or butterfly.  Your kids will love having their faces painted.  Don't worry if you don't feel you are artistic enough, however your artwork turns out, they're bound to feel the part!

The best face paints to use are sold in palettes like water colours, rather than the crayon sticks that you may know from your own childhood.  You can apply these paints with a sponge or brushes.  Start by creating a wash all over the face using a base colour and then add the detail using brushes.

If your child has sensitive skin or you are worried about painting their faces, then you can simply paint motifs onto their hands or arms.

Here are some ideas for faces to create:-

• Animals: tiger, zebra, frog, butterfly, dog, rabbit
• Superheroes: Spiderman, Batman, Incredible Hulk, fairy
• Antiheroes: Dracula, the Gruffalo, a skeleton
• People: Clown, soldier, pirate

Snazaroo is one of the leading brands of face paints, take a look at their online gallery for inspiration!

Children love to mimic what they see mummy and daddy doing, and when it comes to gadgets, they'll absorb the most current devices as if they've been around forever.  No doubt you've collected your fair share of old telephones, mobile handsets, computer keyboards, remote controls for broken equipment, maybe even obsolete laptops?!  All of these make for great 'accessories' for children to play with and will be highly favoured over play items because these are 'real' and ones that you used to use!

Before handing them over to the children, remove any old batteries just so that they can't leak, but then they're good to be used a play things.

It doesn't matter if an old computer keyboard isn't connected to anything, or that an old mobile phone doesn't have batteries in it and makes no noise.  The fact that these are real devices makes them highly attractive to your young children, and being able to play with these items will encourage imaginative play between your little ones.

They can use a computer to do 'work' just like their mummy and daddy do; they can use redundant phone sets to call their friends and family; remote controls will just become gadgets that do something you hadn't even imagined yourself!

Nurturing familiarity with these objects at a young age will make them comfortable with real gadgets when they grow older - they won't be afraid to use phone handsets or computers because they won't be alien to them.  Make sure that your children treat these redundant items as they would a working one - make sure they are gentle with them, never throw them, and put them in sensible places rather than leaving them lying in the middle of the floor.  Having them treat these items with respect now will also instil that they need to treat real working gadgets with similar care later on.

Most nurseries and reception year classes have a 'Home Corner' where young children are encouraged to play 'house'; you can easily create your own Home Corner for your own children or ones you look after.  The Home Corner promotes dramatic play, both for individual children and for children participating in cooperative play.  Give your children things that they see in their home and they will mimic what they have seen adults doing.

You can buy children's equivalents of kitchen 'white goods' - cookers, washing machines and fridges, but all of these are easy to make out of simple cardboard boxes.  Acquire some suitable boxes from your local supermarket, cover them with plain paper, then paint on the relevant features: hobs on the cooker  and a window and buttons on the washing machine.  Cut out doors in the boxes - a full panel for the fridge, a small square for the oven and a round porthole for the washing machine.  Score the back of each door with a knife along its hinged edge to allow it to fold open easily.  Use a plastic bowl for a sink, just place it on another box that can have a door in to act as a cupboard.  In no time at all you'll have a simple Home Corner that will keep your little ones happy for years!

In addition to appliances, add props.  Donate old kitchen equipment like wooden spoons, mixing bowls and other implements.  Toy stores sell play implements, but you will probably find it as cheap to buy real plastic sets from a supermarket!  Add sets of plastic or wooden food from a toy shop.

If you have some low shelves, make these a part of the Home Corner too.  Encourage your children to put everything away neatly and keep their Home tidy!

Role play forms a natural part of childhood, before long your little ones will assume characters in different scenarios and act out the different parts.  Often role play is based on what children have observed, such as caring for younger siblings, keeping a shop or playing doctors, families or schools.  As their imagination grows, so they begin to play made up scenarios such as fairies or princesses, explorers  or monsters!

Role play offers many lessons to a developing child; clearly pretend play extends language and social interaction as children play with one another, or with a parent.  Make believe nurtures imagination and helps children to develop abstract thought where they can extend the rules of the physical world into their pretend world.  As they play they are developing their understanding of the world, learning to solve problems and learning the ability to view the world from the perspective of others.

Many role play games reinforce gender stereotypes from an early age; this seems to be a natural part of early play.  Doctors and nurses and mummies and daddies might seem politically incorrect in this day and age, but the lessons learned from free play are much more important than lessons enforced about gender stereotyping at this young age.  Any separation along lines of gender simply mirrors their understanding of the world through their own observation, and is done entirely innocently.

Other role play games reinforce notions of good and bad; cops and robbers, fairies and witches, cowboys and indians or simply goodies and baddies all draw lines between the good side and bad side and children dividing themselves in such ways will conform to the expected behaviour.

Young children should be encouraged in their make-believe worlds.  They might be asissted with dressing up clothes or large props such as play houses or camps, but at the end of the day, children will be children and will explore their imaginary worlds even without these!

Play is important for every child and for the first few years of their lives, babies and toddlers learn a huge amount during what they consider to be 'play'.  This is why teaching through play is such a great way to guide and educate our children because the message gets through, they learn and yet it all happens while they are having fun, playing!

During play, children expand their understand of the world, their understanding of themselves, and indeed their understanding of other people.  Once children play together, it is also a way to start communicating with other children and sharing ideas and games.

By six months, children have learned, through trial and error, various sequences that they practice.  If they push a ball, it rolls!  They see that something happens and they like the feeling of it happening.   They are learning to grip and drop and use their hands.

By nine months they might push a ball, crawl to get it and push it again.  They master new skills and make the play more interesting and complex for themselves. They use props more and gravitate towards toys they like.

By a year, they are able to be even more accurate with their props/toys.  They know a rattle will rattle and can kick or throw or roll a ball.

Types of play

• Sensory play: As they gain confidence and control their games become even more complex.  They enjoy the sensation of movement such as swings and slides. They will do things over again to relive the experience.

• Pretend Play: Children begin by being adult led and take the initiative from parents when starting out with pretend play.  Once they see what they can do, they may take the lead.  They may take familiar roles of doctor, or Dad when playing.  They may need, props and costumes and will probably be happy making a dressing gown into a super hero cape or tying a scarf round their head to make a princess veil.

• By 4 or 5, pretend play becomes peer focused and they children will happy to share a pretend game together, working out what to do and who is going to be who in the game.  They will discuss the rules of the game, how it will unfold.  They may well guide behaviour by suggesting an action.  "You'll need to drink your tea before you go to work, Dad."  Pre-schoolers will also have to overcome conflict and negotiate.

• Constructive play: Blocks and boxes are used to create a pretend miniature world.  This type of play, allows the child complete freedom to create a world of their own.

• Physical Play: Rough and tumble, running games, chasing games are all popular with pre-schoolers.  They have more control at this age and can jump, run, climb and chase.  Overly aggressive behaviour should be checked, but it's all about learning how to control their body and what they are capable of.

• Organised games: A more logical and formal game arrangement becomes popular between 4 and 5 years old.  They can cope with and understand the idea of having rules and  are able to follow those rules in order to have a fun game.  The idea of competition is introduced and that of winner or loser!  Teams are also introduced and the idea of working together for a common goal.

What's our role?

Observe and comment in a positive way to encourage them.

Play with them especially when they are young,  It affirms the idea of playing and makes them feel worthwhile if you are willing to play too.

Create a playful atmosphere and allow them to play - give them permission to make some noise or a mess!

Make suggestions if they are stuck.

Ensure everyone plays safely ie. the equipment is safe and that the children behave properly too!

The biggest annual celebration of books and reading is coming soon - 4th March will see the 15th World Book Day event in England and Ireland, but the origins can actually be found in Spain!

On 23rd April 1616 one of Spain's most famous authors, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, died.  Better known simply as Cevantes, he wrote Don Quixote. On that same day in England, William Shakespeare, our most celebrated author also died.

But it's not just because of these two authors we celebrate 23rd April - it is also St George's Day which is very significant because in Spain on 23rd April it is customary for men to give roses to their lovers.  Since 1925 it has become the custom for the women to give their men in return, a book.  Many booksellers today still carry on the tradition is Spain, you'll often get a rose in your  new book if bought on this day.

It is for these reasons that UNESCO deemed this date most appropriate to celebrate books in all their glory.  Children especially are encouraged to take a book and read it!  Children all over the world will do so each year!

In the UK the date was revised in order for World Book day to fall in March when children are mid term at school rather than on school holidays.

Nowadays it's an important part of the calendar and schools and children celebrate it all over the country.  Some will wear costumes to school dressed as their favourite characters, others will dress in their pyjamas to stress the importance of the bedtime story.  Whatever you do, just don't forget to do something with a book on 4th March - and make it fun!

Dramatic play is a great way to encourage communication, teach your children about social behaviour and show them how they should respond in unfamiliar situations.  It is a means by which children can imitate adults and act out various situations.  But, remember even dramatic play, is still play!  Don't make it arduous.  It's just a way to re-enact situations or practice behaviour and use their imagination!  Most of all, its a way to have some FUN!

When children dress up and do dramatic play, they can try out new roles, experiment with behaviour and watch for other people's reaction.  It's a way to further understand their world.

How can you encourage this type of play?  Here are a few tips.

Be a playmate. Don't just tell them what to do; get down there and play with them!  If you become a playmate, an equal, it will seem that you are both on the same level and this may encourage dramatic play.  Act out going shopping, going out for coffee, going to a library.  Get your child to talk and act like the shopkeeper or librarian.  Choose a situation that your child will relate to.  Keep it casual, keep it simple and keep it fun.

Don't interfere. If you want to encourage creative, dramatic play try not in interfere too much or lead the game.  Try not to suddenly announce all stop for lunch and spoil the flow.  Why not have lunch in the underground cave or on the pretend plane?  Play along with what they are doing.  Welcome their ideas.

Space. Creative play needs space so try to create some space that can be used and not worry too much about it getting messy or untidy!  A dining room table can become a cavern, the sofas can be moved round to create an indoor play house.  It can all be tidied away afterwards!  It helps the children be creative in their play and makes them feel they are a little in control of the game if their ideas of building a blanket rocket are not always met with a no!

Ideas. Use things you see or read about as ideas for imaginative play.  Create a fairy cave or a vets on the moon in your living room and try and encourage any ideas your child has.

It's a good idea to have a collection of bits and pieces that you can use again and again for dramatic play.  You could use an old cardboard container as a prop box and keep some useful props in there at the ready.  Or, just gather the bits and pieces as you need them.  Below are some ideas of things to put together to really make a bit of imaginative play into something really special - especially if you permit your child to use real, grown-up items!

Ideas for a prop box:

• At the Beach: Sunglasses, towel, sun cream, shells, play food, picnic rug, sun hats
• The Vets: Stuffed animals, cotton wool balls, doctor's kit, blanket, basket, money, boxes, real carrot for the rabbit
• Post Office: Pens, paper, paper clips etc.  Paying-in slips and forms from a real post office/bank.  Money, envelopes, junk mail, hole punch, stamper.
• Decorator (a good one for outside!):  Buckets and pots of water, apron, different sized paintbrushes, child step to reach high, cap, rags and cloths.

Put a bit of thought into your dramatic play together and you'll find you both really enjoy it!

Children love imaginative play and will enjoy our ideas for obstacle courses and treasure hunts!  You can adapt these ideas for indoor or outdoor play, and for the garden or a park.

Set up an obstacle course in the garden by taking a variety of items, such as balls, plastic toys (kids' garden tools or some basic toys from inside), string or rope, flower pots and anything else that might be found in the garden.  Create obstacles where your children have to balance, weave in and out of hurdles placed on the ground, jump over and climb under things.  Create a 'river' with two sticks placed a couple of feet apart and have your toddlers avoid the crocodiles in it by jumping over them.  Place a stepping stone in the middle that they must step on.  Have them weave in and out of flower pots to avoid a bear that's chasing them!  Make up different imaginary obstacles and your children will soon run riot with their own thinking!

If you're stuck inside, you won't have so much space but you can still create snake pits to jump over, furniture to manouvre around and other creative problems to tackle!

Create a treasure hunt by taking stones and wrapping them in foil.  Hide them around the garden or indoors and have your children search for them.  Keep your obstacles in place, so they still have to take care crossing the river, avoid the bears and so on!

You only need to invent a few different obstructions and imaginary scenes and your children will be happy running around for ages!

Papier mache craft is one of the cheapest and easiest activities to undertake with the kids - it might be messy, but make your own paste and it is perfectly safe!  It's also a great activity to bear in mind if you suddenly get caught out on a rainy day with a depleted craft cupboard; you'll probably have the resources required in the home.

Make a child-safe paste by mixing one part flour to five parts water.  Place it in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and then simmer for 3 minutes.  Allow it to cool and you have your paste.

For paper, simply use old newspaper.  Cut it into strips, dip it in your homemade paste, then stick it onto your surface.  To apply, take each strip of paper, dip it in the paste to cover it completely then apply it to your mould or over the previous layers.  Add about three layers at a time then allow to dry - of you add too many layers at once it will take much longer to dry.  Build up to as many layers as you need to give the required thickness.

So, what to make?  If you have a balloon then use this as a mould.  Cover the balloon all over with papier mache, when all your layers are dry burst the balloon and you're left with a terrific head to paint and add features to.  To make a mask, just cover one half of the balloon and remove the balloon when your paste has dried.

Why not make a scene?  Take a large piece of cardboard, create some texture by scrunching up bits of paper and laying them onto your surface, then apply your papier mache.  When the paste has dried, paint it and add other features.  Use leaves and twigs from the garden or park to create a country scene, paint it blue and add plasticine ships to make a turbulent sea!

Try making a monster, or an elephant?  ...build a park, with a pond, for children or a treasure island?!  The possibilities are limitless; enjoy craft at its easiest and your kids will love to create!

Most classic fairy tales have origins in the oral tradition when stories were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, but the fact that many survive today is down to the efforts of a few individuals.  Whilst some well known tales can be dated back to Greek and Roman times, we have to be thankful to the people that retold the stories over the generations and especially to those that later wrote and published the works when printing evolved.

Amongst the earliest published works of children's stories was a book written by Frenchman Charles Perrault (1628 - 1703), Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals which is today still widely known today by its subtitle Tales of Mother Goose. Published in 1697 it records the earliest known written accounts of such classics as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty.

These and many more tales were later collected and republished by two German academics who had devoted their studies to linguistics but also collected and published children's stories.  Jacob (1785 - 1863)  and Wilhelm Grimm (1786 - 1859) are better known as the Brothers Grimm.   They retold many of the tales of Perrault, and more.  Their stories include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretal, Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin.

Unlike Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson (1805 - 1875) originated many of the tales with which he is fondly remembered.  Amongst Anderson's works are The Litle Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina and The Ugly Duckling.  Anderson admired the works of Charles Dickens and met him on several occasions, at one time making an extended visit for several weeks at Dickens' home.  Dickens alledgedly found the Dane to be a bore and based the character Uriah Heap in David Copperfield on him!

Regardless of character, we have much to thank these and many other early story collectors and tellers for.  They have gone on to inspire not only generations of children and learning, but also great artists such as Gustav Doré, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Walt Disney.

Should you be concerned if your child has an imaginary friend?  Absolutely not!  Many children foster imaginary friends at various stages of their childhood, sometimes the same friend will persist for years.  Research suggests that imaginary friends are created by intellectually and intelligently superior children, although not all bright kids will create them.  There is speculation that imaginary friends assist with the adoption of language and help to develop social skills because children will interact with their imaginary friends more than they might interact with their peers.

Imaginary friends will most usually be given a name and be attributed personality traits that may be quite different from those of your own children.  Hollywood indulged in the behaviour of imaginary friends in Drop Dead Fred (1991), currently being remade for release in 2011, and even more famously, Harvey (1950), where the friend took the form of  a giant 6-foot rabbit imagined by Elwood P. Dowd in the film and stage play of the same name.

Listening to your child interact with an imaginary friend can offer a wonderful insight into their feelings, concerns and interpretation of the world.  Your children will allude to people, places and events in ways that they may not talk about openly with you.  This could be the closest exposure you will have to their mind.

Make sure that imaginary friends don't form a barrier to your children socialising with other children and don't let your children use imaginary friends as an excuse to do things that they know are wrong but think they can get away with by apportioning blame onto their friend.

Now if you still have an imaginary friend, that could be a different matter...!

When you were a teenager, you probably had no idea what career you wanted to pursue, yet ask your toddlers, and they know already...nurse, train driver, pilot, doctor, police officer, spaceman?!  Your local toy shops undoubtedly stock a great range of dressing up outfits, and toddlers love nothing more than dressing up as superheroes, fairies, princesses or professionals.  You don't have to go to the expense of buying expensive clothes for your kids to enjoy dressing up in.  Tucked away in your wardrobe, you probably have some clothes that you haven't worn in a long time, and most likely have no intention of wearing again?!  Why not turn these into some fun dressing up outfits for your children.  Some of them may not resemble any outfit that they might want to wear, but they'll simply love that it's a garment that you used to wear - it's not important that it isn't a superhero costume or fairy outfit, all that matters is that they can dress up like mommy and daddy!

Some garments that you're willing to pass down to the next generation might be adapted into fun outfits with just a small amount of work.  Do you have brightly coloured clothes that could might be turned into a pirate outfit?  Old white T-shirts that could be turned into a doctor or nurse outfit with just a few accessories drawn on with fabric pen?  ...or maybe some garments that could literally be cut into shreds and sewn onto a T-shirt to create Peter Pan, Robinson Crusoe or even a fairy costume?  Just a small amount of talent and a little bit of imagination can go a long way, and your kids will simply adore a good box of clothes to dress in and take on new personalities!

Babies grow through an established pattern of play as they become toddlers: can you identify the different stages in your children?  There are five stages that children grow through as they develop:-

Solitary play: The youngest toddlers play very much on their own ignoring other children playing around them.  They can be totally caught up in their world and oblivious to what else is goin on in their immediate surroundings.

Observer: At this stage, children are looking at other children playing around them.  This is a fascinating stage because if you watch your child, you can see them looking at and taking in what other children are doing.  You can almost hear their thought processes as they analyse what others are doing so that they might learn from the experience of others.

Parallel play: During this stage children play amongst a group of children but without direct interaction.  They may share their toys, swapping colouring pens, different trucks or dolls, but they are not playing together.  Children at this stage are aware of each other but they are not interacting together.

Associative play: At this stage, children begin to play together but in a loose sense rather than by organising games together.  They interact but they don't have an overall game plan.  You'll see children chasing around a playground following each other but in a disorganised way.  It doesn't spoil the game if children drop out because there's no overall structure to their play.

Cooperative play: The final development stage emerges between 3 - 4 years and sees children playing together,  creating organised make-believe  games such as doctors and nurses, mommy's and daddy's or teachers.  They take on different roles and play out full scenarios.

The ages at which children pass through the different stages varies according to the way that they develop.  The pattern can be changed by their surroundings - for example, children with older siblings will be introduced to cooperative play sooner than their cohorts at nursery, and single children will have less opportunity to experience play with other children unless they attend nursery.

Little ones love water and love making a mess, so why not enliven one of your household tasks, by inviting the children to join in!  Take a small bucket of clean water along with your bucket of car wash water and get the little ones cleaning with a sponge or cloth.  They can splash around the bottom of the car while you clean the rest.  And, once they get a bit bored, suggest they sit in the front of the car and play "driving".  They can turn the wheel, pretend to drive and generally have a fun, make-believe time while you soap the outside.    You could even let them have the music on!

Then its the fun bit!  If you have a hose, spray the car all over to get rid of the soap and watch the delight on the kids faces as you spray the windows where they sit!  They'll love it!

Here are some fresh ideas to keep your kids occupied in the garden.  Get the little ones helping with some unusual tasks like picking fruit (if you have some!) or pulling the heads off dandelions and other weeds.  Build a camp by draping an old sheet over a bush or some garden furniture.  You're young ones will love to hide from you, and have their own 'house' to play in!  Fill some buckets with water, grab some big decorating paint brushes and get them painting the (outside!) walls of your house, garden shed, garage or patio!  Older children could try painting letters or numbers or shapes on the wall.   Doing tasks like this - and using grown-up tools - is great fun for little ones and getting wet is always appealing for them too!