The Magical World of our children
By Marja Blom
Young children have fun and learn at the same time. They laugh and learn while playing.
Is your living room turned upside down, because your child has build a fort under the table? Good!
Does your child have a vivid imagination and make up stories all the time? Excellent!
Do you worry that you shoul work harder to prepare him for school by teaching reading and writind? Don't
In most countries children don't learn to read and write before they are six. At that age their brains are ready and they catch up quickly with children who learned earlier. How do their brains develop? They develop through playing. When children play they learn. One form of play children engage naturally in is dramatic, pretend play. During play when they dress up like Harry Potter or act like Superman, they develop in the following areas:
Social emotional areas
When your child engages in dramatic play he learns about the world. He puts himself in different roles and learns how others think and behave. Children also act out their emotions through play. They don't have the language to verbalise their feelings and need to act them out through play. In real life they can't cope with many things because they don't have the experience. During play your child is in control. He conquers his fear by scaring a monster away. He feels good when creating his own happy ending. Furthermore talking to himself helps him to think about his problems.
Cognitive
When you child act out a story he has to memorise it first. His memory develops all the time through repetition. He learns about time and the sequence of a story. He argues with his friend, "No, first the wolf ate grandma and after that he ate Red Riding Hood." Along the way children have to improvise a lot, which enhances their creative thinking. Your child is also lerning to do some problem solving. When their fort is collapsing they have to think about how they could improve it. While they negotiate with their friends they learn to reason and plan, and their language skills get a boost everytime they play.
Physical
Your daughter is pouring a cup of tea from her little plastic teapot. Her fine motorskills are developing and her hand-eye coordination improves. Your son is running through the garden pretending he is Superman. He jumps over a bench and lifts up a stone. This superman is improving his gross motor skills and coordination During physical play 'a map' is formed in his brain of where all the body parts are and how they interact. It's ready to be used next time. Also Superman's strength increases. He is getting fitter and healthier. Super isn't it.
Did you realise their were so many learning oppertunities in children's play? I haven't even mentioned them all. As parents what can we do to foster this dramatic play?
Children are programmed to learn and develop. Their brains know what is best for them. We interfere with this process by giving them to much TV and the computer. Screens overstimulate the brain with sights and sounds. Therefore your child doesn't feel the need to learn to stimulate his brain through play and becomes dependent on electronic media. TV does have some good programmes, but think what your child misses out on when he watches to much TV.
Adults often interfere with logic and our adult way of thinking. For example we might tell that fairies don't exist. Some kids might than think that they are doing something wrong and stop using their imagination. They might become more logical more like us. They will miss out, however, on a lot of discovering and learning. Isn't it true that that the best inventions and discoveries are made by unusual ways of thinking?
Provide your child with the right toys and props
Your one or two-year old needs toys that look like the real thing. They are not yet able that a stick can represent something else. older children need toys that are minimally structured. With simple toys children can use their imagination. Examples of good toys are dolls, cars, trucks and blocks. Junk can also be good play material. A cardboard box can turn your child into a robot or might become a house. In our house a big cane basket was very popular. It was filled with clothes, hats, masks and old sheets. You can put together job kits. Buy a doctor's set and add a white shirt. Buy pen and paper and add an old phone and computer keyboard - there is your office kit.
Read lots of stories
Read to your child as much as possible. Stories are a mine of wealth that will enrich your child's play Stories stimulate their imagination and they will learn a lot of new words easily. When a child is attracted to a story, he wil memorise it and identify with its characters. Fairytales hold a special place and suits a child's way of thinking. They create a magical world where everything is possible. A frog is easily turned in a prince.Children love this and they change roles all the time.
To develop a child's imagination even more, you could show him a picture or give him an item. Ask him to make up a story. you can help him begin by showing him a shell and telling him it's a treasure box, lost by a sea princess. Her father Neptune, has ordered all the seacreatures to look for it. Ask your child what happens next. You could do this with the whole family, so everybody tells a part of the story.
Use your imagination
Take every oppertunity to make up stories. Every time you go for a walk, stop when you see some flowers. Listen with your children to the fairies, dancing inside the petals. You can tell them that fairies celebrate the end of their hard work preparing for the summer by painting and shaping all the pretty flowers. Don't worry if your iagination isn't flourishing. your child will help you.
Another idea is to use one of the many rituals you build into your life. Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy provide rich material for many pleasant moments. When you get into the spirit of your child's magical world, the child inside you will wake up and you will have just as much fun. In this stimulating environment your child will develop through play and learn important tools, which is an excellent foundation for further development.
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