There is no doubt that imagining is a form of play. Did you know it is also a very necessary thinking and relationship skill? When helping children learn good behavior choices we often ask them to think how the other person is feeling. In order to understand how someone else is feeling a child needs to be able to imagine that. Or, we ask “How would you feel if that happened to you?” To answer takes imagination.
Imagination not only needs exercise and practice to separate what is real and what is fantasy, imagination can help kids cope with real world stress. Imagining different outcomes is the basis of problem solving and creativity. There will be lots of imagining fun at kindergarten; exploring imagination at home helps with readiness for kindergarten.
Since we’re often checking the sky for weather signs when camping here is an activity for kindergarten readiness and imagination fun. With your little one lie on the ground and look at the clouds. What do the clouds look like? Talk about the different shapes and what they might be: animals, popcorn, flowers, cars, trains, etc. I think this one looks like a big, white caterpillar. What do you think it looks like?