According to Einstein, imagination is more important than knowledge. His reasoning was that knowledge only encompasses what we know while imagination is everything we know, don’t know, and anything in between. For a child, imagination is one of the most important factors in shaping his or her view of the world. Pretend play helps children learn about the world they’re in. Imagination helps develop a child’s critical thinking skills and creative problem solving techniques. It can also help to foster social development which, in essence, helps your child achieve his or her highest emotional and social potential. Encouraging your child to expand his or her imagination helps you child cultivate his or her understanding of the world and how to find new and unique solutions to problems. If you’d like to help your child’s imagination grow, here are three different DIY imagination stations your child will be sure to love.
Art Station
Art is used to express creativity and imagination. It can build confidence, help develop hand-eye coordination, and encourage concentration and focus. To make an art station, first figure out what type (or types) of art your child is most interested in. You can set up a desk for drawing, a sculpting table, or a craft table. Make sure the art station is in a quiet area your child feels comfortable in. If you don’t have room for a desk or table, consider using chalkboard paint to create a wall your child can draw on. Or, if you don’t want to clean up chalk dust, use a clear whiteboard paint that can turn any wall or section of wall into a whiteboard. Hanging and displaying your child’s art around the art station will help build confidence and the desire to create more art.
In the last few years, several DIY sciences projects and games have come up in the market. This has allowed parents to do fun learning activities with their kids. In terms of the space requirements, you might need bigger lab tables where kids are able to carry out experiments with ease. Since there are tumblers, boards, and other small pieces of equipment, make sure that the lab table has adequate spaces to hold all the items with ease. You do not want anything dropping on the floor and getting damaged.
Nature Station
If you child isn’t fond of drawing or sculpting, consider using nature as a way to encourage imagination. Creating a nature station outside is a great way to get your child outdoors and explore the mysteries and beauty of nature. A nature station can take on many different forms, depending on what interests your child. Sandboxes are a common outdoor play area. With a sandbox, your child can doodle in the sand, build sandcastles, or simply pretend they’re in a desert. You can build a cloud-gazing platform out of a pallet and some outdoor cushions so your child has a comfortable and clean place to lay down while he or she looks up at the clouds and tries to figure out what shapes they look like.
Building Station
If Legos or other building blocks are your child’s favorite toy, create a building station. There are many different ways to build your own building station, but essentially you need a table and storage. You can use two clear plastic storage carts as legs and a piece of plywood or old door cut to size as the tabletop. Organize the blocks by size, shape, or color and use utensil organizers to separate. You can glue Lego bases to the tabletop to save on space and to make it easier for your child to change what he or she is working on.
Acting Station
Pretend play is essential for children to expand their imagination while putting themselves in the shoes of others. By pretending to be a doctor or a farmer or a zookeeper, children can learn different ways of expressing themselves, building confidence, and maybe even figuring out what they want to be when they grow up. You can use pallets as the stage base and create rod stands out of PVC pipe. Enlist the aid of your child in creating props, puppets, and costumes. Encouraging your child to express him or herself by using imagination is one of the greatest ways to help your child grow.
Written by Kelly Mahan, also writer for homeyou.com, a company that helps homeowners find the best contractors for their home improvement projects, right in their area. Check more on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram: @teamhomeyou
Looks so fun. I like the Nature Station