With the exception of Sebastien, the Friday group steered clear of the clay. Kaia did circle the clay a few time but never touched it and Theo sat near by but never approached it. Sebastien swiped one of Theo's spoons and brought it to the clay to gave it a taste but seeing his playmates were not into the clay he decided to join them in their play.
From very early on babies imitate the adults in their lives. I remember "testing" this natural imitation reflex with Sebastien when he was just 2 months old. I would stick out my tongue and then wait for him to do the same, he would always mimic me. As children grow they begin to do more sophisticated imitations or what Piaget termed "practice/functional play". During this type of play "children repeatedly practice their schemes for actions with objects or their own bodies" (Play at the Center of the Curriculum, pg.28). In the following video Theo practices the scheme of what it means to use a phone. Watch carefully as he slings the phone up toward his ear at the beginning. He is answering the phone, of course.
Piaget described practice or functional play as "a happy display of known actions". Kaia knows how to care for a baby, watch as she holds, walks, and talks to baby Lukas.
Many times we don't even realize that children are replaying what they have seen us do. Watch as Sebastien practices putting a lid on a pot. This functional play caught my attention because our regular pots and pans are in a place where he can reach them and get them if needed. He watches us use and put them away daily. They are very heavy and hard to manipulate but Sebastien still tries to get them out and drag them around. His most challenging experience with these these pots and pans is to fit the lids on and then carry them around. He is trying to do the same with his wooden pots and it is still a little tricky. Theo is extremely interested in what he's doing as he works with the pots.
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