Pretend play is indeed a microcosm of creative processes. With pretend play, we can observe the fundamental components of creativity. Pretend play is one arena in which we can identify the basic essentials of the creative process and learn about the development of the interaction of these processes. Pretend play is the expression of self-generated thought that includes divergent thinking, object substitution, symbolism, fantasy, affect themes, and narrative development. In play, children switch back and forth between spontaneous idea generation and the more controlled logic of the narrative. This chapter reviews the theories of play and creativity, and the correlational, longitudinal, and experimental research literature. The development of creative processes in play is discussed. Pretend play can be used as a measure of creativity. Suggestions for future investigation are offered.

In this chapter, we focus on a loose-parts school-based intervention to promote playfulness. The intervention is known as the Sydney Playground Project (SPP). Before describing the Sydney Playground Project in detail, we briefly review some of the changes in the social and physical contexts of children that are now understood to have a negative impact on mental and physical wellbeing. Play is difficult to define, so it is important to be clear about what we mean by play. Skard and Bundy (2008) have identified four elements of playfulness (relative: internal control, intrinsic motivation, freedom to suspend reality and framing) which we believe are important in any definition of play.