Real Versus Make Believe in the Early Childhood Classroom

Creativity is important to a child’s development.  As our world becomes more technologically advanced, children will need creative problem-solving skills to face the challenges of their time. Imagination is the cornerstone to this process!  

We know from research about the 3-6 age group that children of this age are still acquiring information about what is real and predictable in their world.  The early childhood Montessori classroom focuses on real objects in the universe, and we encourage the children to be creative in imagining possibilities within the real world.  Through the concrete activities children practice in the classroom, they are learning how to recognize tangible objects that are the foundation of their world and their learning.  It’s with an inquisitive imagination that children are able to “imagine” the next step in their learning; they study the details and “imagine” how they fit together.

Maria Montessori considered and asked, “How is it possible for the child’s imagination to be developed by that which is in truth by the fruit of the adult’s imagination? We alone imagine, not they; they merely believe.”