Development of a Child's Imagination
Dr Montessori emphasizes the importance of the development of imagination. How do cultural activities in a Montessori prepared environment aid in the development….
The ability to imagine is a unique human experience and deserves to be nurtured and encouraged. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that the development of the child’s imagination and creativity are inborn powers within the child that develops as his mental capacities are established through his interaction with the environment. The cultural activities in a Montessori prepared environment helps to foster imaginative skills in the early years which make significant difference in a child’s future development. The children while being educated are encouraged to imagine. This freedom of mind helps them to connect the environment with their imaginations to construct meaningful ideas and pictures. It is like setting a butterfly free to roam from flower to flower from tree to bushes mapping the environment around for recognisation. Imagination makes the brain work hard. As Jacqueline Harding writes,” When children imagine and pretend they break through an important mental barrier. The ability to be creative and imaginative allows the brain to make connections between one area of learning and another. The part of the brain responsible for imagination is located in the frontal lobes and also helps to facilitate reflection, empathy, play and creativity”1. When children engage in imagination and creativity, their brains are signal processing at a higher level: they are literally seeing, sensing, hearing and feeling more of the world Imagination is the faculty through which we encounter everything. The things that we touch, see and hear coalesce into a "picture" via our imagination. Imagination is the power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality. It is a creative ability or mental capacity for experiencing, constructing and manipulating mental
The ability to imagine is a unique human experience and deserves to be nurtured and encouraged. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that the development of the child’s imagination and creativity are inborn powers within the child that develops as his mental capacities are established through his interaction with the environment. The cultural activities in a Montessori prepared environment helps to foster imaginative skills in the early years which make significant difference in a child’s future development. The children while being educated are encouraged to imagine. This freedom of mind helps them to connect the environment with their imaginations to construct meaningful ideas and pictures. It is like setting a butterfly free to roam from flower to flower from tree to bushes mapping the environment around for recognisation. Imagination makes the brain work hard. As Jacqueline Harding writes,” When children imagine and pretend they break through an important mental barrier. The ability to be creative and imaginative allows the brain to make connections between one area of learning and another. The part of the brain responsible for imagination is located in the frontal lobes and also helps to facilitate reflection, empathy, play and creativity”1. When children engage in imagination and creativity, their brains are signal processing at a higher level: they are literally seeing, sensing, hearing and feeling more of the world Imagination is the faculty through which we encounter everything. The things that we touch, see and hear coalesce into a "picture" via our imagination. Imagination is the power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality. It is a creative ability or mental capacity for experiencing, constructing and manipulating mental
References: 1. “The importance of imagination”, by Jacqueline Harding, Educational Director 2. “The Absorbent Mind” by Maria Montessori 3. http://www.maitrilearning.com/PDF/WhatIsMontessoriEducation.pdf, ‘Media briefing ‘, December 2006 4. Volume 5, Issue 1, 1995, “Vygotsky 's perspective on the development of imagination and creativity” 5. The Development of a Capacity for Imagination in Early Childhood by Linda C. Mayes, M.D. and Donald J. Cohen, M.D. Bibliography: 1. Basic Montessori by David Gettman 2. The Discovery of the child by Maria Montessori 3. The Essential Montessori by Elizabeth hainstock 4. The Montessori way by Seldin and Epstein 5. The world in the palm of her hand by Tim Seldin