The Importance Of Imaginative Play

Do you remember when you were a child and you would use the power of your imagination to transform the world around you? No matter if you were by yourself in your room or with a group of friends, you could turn anywhere or anything into whatever you wanted to. From sitting on a wagon pretending that you were a pirate sailing across the seven seas to imagining the rock in your hand was actually a race car zooming its way to the finish line. A child’s imagination is pretty incredible and this is clear when you watch your young one role-play. While imaginative play is purely for enjoyment in the child’s opinion, did you know that it is also very beneficial to their early childhood education? In this blog post, we will talk about the things that your child is learning when they use their creativity to create a world of their own. 

If you are currently looking for a child care center for your kiddo in Cedar Rapids or Blaine, then go ahead and contact Compass Early Learning to schedule a tour or to learn more about our center.

Social Skills
Social skills are so important to your child’s development. If they do not know how to interact with their classmates, teachers, or other people that they encounter, the world can become a pretty difficult and scary thing for them to maneuver through. When they partake in imaginative play with neighbors, friends, or classmates, they are learning how to be around their peers and how to make friends out of strangers. While one kid is a detective and the other is an elusive jewel thief on the run, their minds work together to create the story and figure out where it leads. This will help them to realize that making friends isn’t such a frightening thing after all and is actually really easy! 

​Language Skills
If you just sit in the area of a child role-playing, you will not only hear words and phrases that you didn’t realize that they know, but you will also see how their mind is developing and enhancing their storytelling abilities. Imaginative play is great for your young one’s language skills and will also help them understand the difference between the written language and the spoken one.

Creativity
It doesn’t matter if you are an artist or an accountant, being creative is important for everyone in our day-to-day lives. It’s incredibly beneficial to encourage your child to be as creative as possible right from the get-go and one way that they can do this is through imaginative play.

Problem Solving
Surprisingly enough, role-playing is actually very good for their problem-solving abilities. While they are trying to figure out which world they will be living in, whether it be one of superheroes or aliens, they have to piece everything together. What are these superheroes’ powers? What do the aliens look like, and if they aren’t friendly, how are they going to save the earth? The child must also use their minds to figure out the props and costumes. All of this, in its own way, is a great example of problem-solving which they will use all throughout their lives. And hey, if aliens do invade earth, maybe they can help!

As you can see, imaginative play is so much more than just a good time for your young one. It provides them with cognitive skills that will carry on throughout their lives. That’s why here at Compass Early Learning, we make sure that it is a part of our curriculum because we believe that their creativity is just as important for them as learning math or science. If you would like to learn more about our childcare center and how we can help with your kiddo’s early childhood development, give us a call today.