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Two people tossing a ball to each other.

Plays with peers

This stage of play focuses on working together. There are no “winners” or “losers.” Playing cooperatively demonstrates developing social skills with peers. A goal is to play cooperatively for one minute for each year of age, so for a five-year-old that would be approximately 5 minutes of sustained cooperative play. Encourage the use of language in play and support children’s attempt to structure their cooperative play with others.

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Activity Ideas

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Chien, N. C., Howes, C., Burchinal, M., Pianta, R. C., Ritchie, S., Bryant, D. M., Clifford, R. M., Early, D. M., Barbarin, O. A. (2010). Children’s classroom engagement and school readiness gains in prekindergarten. Child Development, 81(5), 1534–1549.

Coplan, R. J., & Arbeau, K. A. (2009). Peer interactions and play in early childhood. In K. H. Rubin, W. M. Bulowski, & B. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (pp. 143–161). New York, NY: Guilford Press.