Imagination in Kindergarten

"No, Baby Dragon, No!!!!"  A student runs across the playground, yelling after a friend.  Apparently, her baby dragon is not cooperating.  There is great joy in watching children immerse themselves in imaginative play.  There are also many benefits.  Imagination is the fuel for creativity.  There is range of important cognitive and physical development happening when our students engage in this type of play.  Pretend play allows children an opportunity to understand the world from multiple perspectives.  As they role play, they begin to feel what it is like to be a parent or a baker or a "bad guy."  They learn how to communicate more effectively as they negotiate and puzzle through novel situations.  They problem solve and create scenarios using various props.  They also develop their fine and gross motor skills.  As we exercise our imagination we become smarter, stronger, and kinder.  This "play" is very important work!

                                      A human mother with her fire breathing Baby Dragon

                                                                   Playing family

                                                                Bakers hard at work

                                                     I'm making a fire so we can survive

                                                      Keeping warm at "the beach"

                                                   "What are you girls pretending to do?"
                                  "Oh, we are not pretending we are doing something real."
                                                          "Oh what are you doing?"
                                                     "We are making genie bottles."

Here is a link to an article about Imaginative Play that might be helpful to read :-)