Fostering Imagination

As a parent, it is my job to teach my children about the world. As a scientist, I believe it is critical to be honest, encouraging education that is straightforward and fact based. I prefer to give full disclosure on tricky subjects such as where babies come from, what hamburger is made of, and what happens when you die. Even when it comes to discipline, I don’t like to cut corners for the sake of avoiding a meltdown. For example, when my toddler is desperate to play for 10 more minutes with the toy train, I won’t fib that the library is about to close. Instead, I tell the truth – it’s late and mama needs to start cooking dinner. Or why tell her that the cookies are all gone when really she isn’t allowed to have another one? That’s delaying inevitable (and important) lessons.

And yet, I believe there is tremendous value in make-believe. I do what I can to show my children that the world is indeed a magical place. Maria Montessori cautioned adults from undervaluing the tinkering and nonsense that young children invest themselves in, explaining that “play is the work of childhood.” Here are a few ways that I try to foster imagination in my 3 year old daughter:

Hiking through the gorges in Ithaca, we cross over many beautiful, old stone bridges each week. I like to remind Evee that trolls live under some bridges, and may demand tolls from people who want to cross. Sometimes my husband or I will pretend to be the troll, and demand a bauble or gesture from Evee such as a flower, pebble or kiss on the cheek. This always gets her giggling, and often ends in requests for the troll to chase her.

Craning to see the troll under the bridge

Evee and I also love to speculate about the magical places where fairies live. When I come across something like a small stone bench, birdbath, or outdoor nook walled in by ivy or a trellis, I tell Evee about how garden fairies are attracted to places like this. We discuss what we can do to cultivate garden fairies in our own yard. Water fairies are hiding in the lush, dripping moss growing around the waterfalls where we hike , and we always squint into the sun trying to catch a glimpse.

Our bedtime chapter book right now is The BFG by Roald Dahl. Last night we read the chapter where the BFG takes Sophie to dream country to catch dreams in his net to bring to children. This morning, Evee listened for the invisible dreams zooming around our backyard. She caught them in her net, and we bottled and labeled the dreams that she caught. For the next few nights, we’ll make a show of releasing one of the good dreams from the jar before she goes to bed. But under no circumstances will we ever release the Trogglehumper, which is a terrifying nightmare.

Chasing dreams in the backyard

We caught a Winksquiffler, Phizzwizard and even a nefarious Trogglehumper

There’s so much magic in our world that we have yet to discover, and I don’t want my children to close their minds off from any of it. While spending time bartering with trolls may not seem as practical as practicing ABCs or even getting comfortable on her new bike, these exercises in imagination give her the insight and the courage to explore beyond the scope of contemporary knowledge or known science to stumble upon new ideas and hidden wonders. I hope my girls will never outgrow silly, imaginative and magical things like chasing dreams and cultivating fairies.