Imagination can be defined as the ability to form mental images or pictures of something you have never experienced or perceived in reality. It can also be referred to a creation of the mind.
Every child is born with it and can be fostered through play which serves as an avenue to developing a child’s cognitive abilities, it is through play and exploration that the critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills come into play. Kids above the age of three can usually distinguish between real situations and pretend ones, however, when they get into play mode they can lose sight of the distinction this factor when putting into good use can have a huge impact on a child’s development. As Einstein put it “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” When it is nurtured it promotes ingenuity and acts as an avenue for the kids to learn about the world, learn how to express themselves, react to situations, take on different roles plan and act.
How to Encourage Creativity
As a parent, you are tasked with the responsibility of creating an enabling environment for the child to express their creativity. There are various ways of doing this:
1. Get them Reading.
Bedtime stories are a great place to start as a form of bonding and creating imaginative development for the child. It is through stories that children learn how to communicate thoughts through feelings and get a chance to live the stories through the scenes and characters. Choose from different subject matters and you can involve the kids in this too. Encourage the kids to read on their own too then use this as a chance to ask them thought-provoking questions about other possible scenarios which develop creative and imaginative thinking and literacy skills.
2. Encourage art activities
Art is a creative expression that provides a sense of freedom of expressing their ideas and also encourages focus and concentration. Activities such as play dough, paint, making of sculptures and going to the museum will give the child a chance to learn. Art also helps the child to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills which gives them mastery of the materials they work with resulting in new creations. As a parent, your role should be of a quiet observer and do not try and rationalize with the child’s art as it will create doubts in the child and limit their expression.
3. Let Them Play
There are two types of play that children can engage in; science play- which takes place when children are learning about “nature and phenomenon”. Social and emotional play- which is the play that involves more than one person, here children play pretend games which are a mode through which they ‘rehearse’ life. These forms of play improve the children’s metacognition and get to learn their likes and dislikes and also improve on their social-awareness.
4. Make Discoveries
You can also play hunting games where the kids look for a particular object in the house. Pictures can also serve as a platform for creating narratives and provoking their imaginations through illustrations.