Outside/Backyard Pretend Play things you can do to add more whimsy/play to your life :
(and also ways to just practice pretend play so you get better at it !!)
name certain parts of your yard/playground !! For example there is a patch of huge clovers behind our fence and that area is Clover Grove. The shady trees by our other fence is Firefly Canopy. Get creative with it aswell !! Maybe that patch of dandelions is technically just plants, but it could also be Fairy Bed Field too, and isn't that so magical? You can even draw a map !!
"This is not X, this is Y" games are also very fun!! That stick is not a stick, so what is it? A wand? An electric guitar? A sword?
Sit still and listen and try to pick out a sound. Then try to imagine some kind of fantasy creature that sound is coming from. For example, that is not a cricket chirping, it is a singing dragon !! Etc etc
Creating arbitrary rules that you follow for fun. This could be things like "I will only take every other step", or "i will only walk on the sidewalk lines".
The rules are what you say they are, especially if you play alone. If you dont like a rule, break it. It's healthy to practice and it has zero consequence !! Nobody is gonna die if you take 3 hops instead of 2 during hopscotch esp if you are the only one playing the hopscotch. Sometimes being cheeky is fun too
On that note, break a rule you had as a kid because you were Too Little. As a kid i was never allowed to walk around the side of our house but now I do it all the time because I am Bigger and I learned to look Both Ways !! It is sooo much fun
You do not have to be the hero in all your stories. You can play as the villain sometimes too !! It is fun to try even just once. There is a reason so many villains have a practiced Evil Laugh and that reason is that its fun to practice your Evil Laugh
Yes i know some people are worried about being seen or about your toy getting dirty, but you can always always bring your toys outside with you !! I simply carry my plushie with me so he doesnt get dirty, but frankly i dont really care if he gets grass on him. And I am holding your hand so gently when I say this, but you are never going to be able to work through the anxiety of bringing your toy outside, if you never bring your toy outside. Nobody is looking into your back yard. If they are, THEYRE weird. It's your toy's back yard too
A lot of my play is very like. Whimsical and fairy themed and doesn't really make sense to anybody except me. The story is always nonsensical and jumbled because I do not play in the same way others do and i find pretend play to be really difficult, especially solo. But these are just a few things I do that make it easier for me to practice with it, that arent so specific to me that I also think can be applied elsewhere !!
