Original URL: http://fun.familyeducation.com/games/early-learning/35707.html

Pretend That...

Time

• 10 to 20 minutes

Materials

• None

Directions

Problem-solving is an excellent way to teach the experience of kindness to others. You can do this by posing hypothetical situations and thinking of alternatives for good endings. For example, you could say: "Let's pretend that I just got home from work, and while I was cooking dinner the phone rang. When I was talking, dinner burnt. What could happen next?" Or, "Let's pretend that we have been eating dinner, and there's only one piece of pizza left, and we both want it." Make sure that your solutions always improve the outcome for everyone involved.

Extensions

• Ask your child to tell you about difficult situations they have faced and how they handled them. Could anything have been done differently?
• Create a problem-solving book together by writing down examples of good ways to handle difficult situations. You can refer to them later when similar situations arise.