Early Years Stretching your child’s imagination!

By Jemma Z Smith

Imagination is the ability to create mental images, thoughts or ideas. It helps us to generate new ideas, to think creatively and to consider possibilities that may not be rooted in current reality. Imagination can be a powerful tool for problem-solving and innovation.

Imagination is often associated with childhood and is an important aspect of child development. Children use their imaginations to create stories, games and other forms of play in which they explore their environment and learn about the world.

However, imagination isn’t only important in childhood. There are many jobs that rely on imagination and creative thinking. For example, imagination is used by the following professionals in the following ways:

Painters, sculptors, photographers - to create works of art.

Novelists & screenwriters - to create stories and characters.

Actors - to portray characters and bring stories to life.

Architects - to design buildings and other structures. Graphic designers - to create visual designs for websites, advertisements and other media.

Musicians - to compose music and create new sounds. Marketers - to come up with creative marketing campaigns and advertisements.

Teachers - to create engaging lesson plans and activities for their students.

Engineers - to design and build new products and systems.

Imagination takes many forms, including visual imagination to create mental images or pictures, verbal imagination in stories or ideas using words and musical imagination creating melodies and harmonies. It can also involve the use of all five senses, such as when someone imagines the taste, smell, or texture of a food they have never experienced.

By providing opportunities for children to use their imagination and encouraging them to be creative, parents can develop their creative thinking skills. All imaginative play starts with an understanding of the world around us, so to help a child to use their imagination we must first introduce them to different experiences, from sensory experiences such as discovering new foods or smells, to listening to different accents and instruments. This exposure to the world allows your child to have a large mental ‘dressing up box’ to use when creating characters and scenarios for their imaginative play.

Jemma Zoe Smith is Director of The Education Hotel (educationhotel.co.uk).

Independent School Open Days

Chesham Prep

Open Day: Friday 12 May.

Early Years Stay & Play: Wednesday 3 May. 9.45-11.00, (2 ½–4 yrs). Pre-register at: cheshamprep.co.uk/openday/

Gateway School & Preschool

Activities to develop imagination

Encourage open-ended play. Playing with certain toys allows for open-ended exploration and creativity. Blocks, dolls and dressing-up clothes can all be used in a variety of ways, led by a child’s imagination.

Encourage storytelling. Parents can encourage children to create their own stories and characters, either through verbal storytelling, drawing or writing.

Encourage experimentation. Children use their imagination and creativity when trying new things and experimenting with different materials. For example, parents can provide children with art supplies, such as paint, clay or markers and encourage them to create their own projects.

Read together. Reading with children stretches their imagination and exposes them to new ideas and concepts. Encourage them to ask questions and make predictions while reading, to help stimulate their imagination.

Encourage role play. Role play is a fun way to use imagination, for instance, pretending to be a doctor with dolls and soft toys or pretending to be a chef while cooking dinner.

Saturday 4 March. Personal tours are available. To book, please call: 01494 867806 or visit: gatewayschool-bucks.co.uk/ admissions

Great Missenden, co-ed, ages 2-11yrs.

Heatherton

Stay & Play: Friday 10 March.

Amersham, Co-ed Nursery, Girls Prep, rising 3-11 years. Book online: heatherton.com

Lockers Park School

Open Morning: Saturday 18 March.

Early Years Stay & Play: 10 March, 9.30-11.00. Boxmoor, boys, 4–13 yrs. Visit lockerspark.co.uk to book.

Maltman’s Green School

Friday 10 May and Friday 19 May.

Book via their website: maltmansgreen.com or email: registrar@ maltmansgreen.com

Gerrards Cross, girls 2-11 yrs.

Pipers Corner School

Friday 28 April.

Book your time slot online: pipers.sc/visitpipers

Great Kingshill, 4km from High Wycombe, girls 4-18.

The Beacon

Friday 12 May, 9.00-11.00.

Amersham, Boys 3-13 yrs. Pre-booking required online: beaconschool.co.uk

Thorpe House

Wednesday 15 March, 9.00-11.00.

Book your place at: thorpehouse.co.uk

Gerrards Cross, boys 4-16 yrs.

Westbrook Hay: Friday 12 May, 10.00-12.00. Hemel Hempstead, 3-13 yrs. Book your place online: westbrookhay.co.uk