Learning how to hold one of those objects is a skill that he or she will use the rest of his or her life. This child is also able to express him or herself through drawing. Children's pictures depict how they"re feeling and help them get out the emotions they don't know how to express (Callard). .
Parallel play is similar to solitary play. In parallel, the child is still playing alone, but next to another child (Gordon 404). There is no verbal communication between them. Two children sitting quietly reading or looking at books are absorbing more than pictures. Turning the paper pages of the book is defining their fine motor skills. This task uses the pinching motion of the fingers. Even if the child can't read, they are still growing intellectually. The story may be one that he or she has been read before so they "know" the story and are rehearsing what they remember of it in their head and using the pictures to guide them if they have forgotten. .
Children playing in a texture table full of sand and seashells could be also playing parallel. Each child has their own cup or something to pour the sand and there are enough shells for everybody. Pouring sand from one cup to another increases the development of hand-eye coordination. This activity also shows a child who has never been to a beach how sand feels. The different shapes, colors, sizes, and textures of the shells will have the children thinking about vocabulary they may not use in their everyday life or the children may compare a shell to something else that has some of the same qualities. These children are growing intellectually and gaining fine motor skills as well.
Another type of play is associative play. When children are playing associatively, two or more children are communicating, but not working together. Each child has its own goal or purpose (Gordon 404). Children playing at a sensory table with play-doh, as observed on February 24, 2003, are being associative.