Mission Journal Prototyping

We mocked up our first iteration of our Mission Journal. Whilst doing this we found a couple of things that didn't quite work such as jumping on the page would make the page rip. The drawing with dirt isn't plant related.

Checklist for the next week.

Checklist:

1. Complete Mission Journal
2. Refine illustrations for Journal, make them black and white?
3. Fill in Mission Journal
4. Edit Dossier
5. Refine illustrations for dossier
6. Complete Dossier
7. Plan presentation
8. Budget research
9. Finalise budget
10. How will we visualise the game? - For dossier and presentation
11. Teacher info packs?

Budget considerations:

1. Books (how much per kid, estimate how much per school group?)
2. Plants used during game / need replacing?
3. Staff time
4. Stamps
5. Paint (warrior stripes)
6. Task cards, printing, laminating, paper used
7. Staff training
8. Legality to be considered? Ratio of adults per kids needed for groups. (Health and Safety)
9. Teacher pack

Illustrations

These are some illustrations I created for the "levels intro" section of the mission journal:

Level 1: Stranded

Level 2: disaster

Level 3: Lost 

I also created these little stamps (to stamp in the journals once missions are completed)

Illustrations for Plant Glossary

Task cards.

For our task card we will divide the 3 missions into different colour categories for each group (Only three colours shown above but there could be more). For each different team they will get a different order to complete their mission to ensure all the kids are not over crowding certain areas of the garden or fighting over the plants. We will need to extend the designs of these so each level makes sense for the supervisor handing out these mission cards.

Team meetup | Concept Development

At the start of this term, we wrote up a quick timeline/checklist for the next few weeks, just so we could map out exactly how much we needed to do. With every team meeting we not only check off more and more, but we also add more and more to the list. Already our project has developed quite a bit more from our concept we had at the end of the last term for this semester.

Initially we just had a game that targeted all four areas of the garden, but we thought we were going to have to alter it to all ages, come up with a bucket load of options, and figure out the exact logistics of the game. Through communication with the client, we have come up with more and more ways to approach the design of our concept.

• We are now designing for 8-12 year olds, specifically school groups. So now we are designing on the assumption that we will have roughly 30 kids at a time to work with. 
• The mission journal (which was initially a side feature as some sort of reward for the child) is now a key focus element that will help facilitate the journey throughout our game
• To enable for efficiency and refined detail, we are now coming up with only 3 of the levels, leaving flexibility and with the assumption that there will be many more levels to come afterwards
• The mission journal will help us facilitate sustainability by encouraging children to interact with the mini-games in their journal (at home) so that they're continuing to discover the wonders of plant life even outside the botanical gardens. 

Mission Journal

Over this last week, we've really started mapping out the logistics of our mission journal. We first came up with all the levels and the scenarios for each (description in previous post). Then we started brainstorming a range of mini-games that could be included in the journal. We then started to layout the journal, what will go in the front? what will go in the back? Important content to help with the levels? Remembering it needs to be easy enough (accessible) for schools to download and print out themselves. We wanted these missions to be a little more interactive with the journal... Similar to the idea of the "wreck my journal" where the kids don't feel like they need to be precious with the journal. We want them to feel like they can really personalise it and make it their own. We want it to encourage them to interact with and learn about the power of nature. We have also begun prototyping the jour

Basic layout

Important journal elements include:

• Adventurer Identification page. This page allows the adventurer to come up with their own profile. including drawing their own character, coming up with a code name, rank and adding personal details such as age and school (possibly teacher?)
• A map of both the children's garden and the botanical garden itself
• Success sprout stamp page. Every time they level up, they're stamped on this page. (stamps per page for mini-games will also be used)
• Levels 1, 2 and 3 sections.. With a few mini-games per level section. At the start of every level, the children will draw their new team mates according to the instructions. This could be a blind drawing, drawing their team mates like a plant or drawing them as superheroes.
• Glossary of plants. Images and titles of plants all categorised based on their "plant power" (fibre, medicine, food, construction). Once children learn of the plant's power, they write it in themselves
• Stain log

We created a paper prototype roughly just so we could see where we are at, and have begun fleshing out each section. We started delegating illustration tasks already. I drew up the level intro page illustrations, Celia drew up the maps, and Sam drew up some of the mini-game illustrations. Once we've got a complete prototype, we're all going to fill it out... and I CAN'T WAIT OMG

Mission journal/ dossier moodboard

Just some more inspiration for design features we could include in either the mission journal or our final dossier. For our final dossier we want to make it more of a hands on interactive journey so we would like to include real plants and herbs tucked away in the pages and well as fibres so when reading through the dossier you get more of a personal experience of what our game entails as we are all about hands on learning.

school program information

For our children's garden experience we are having the game as something school groups will come and do as part of a class project or outdoor education etc. There are a few other school activities that are based around learning about the benefit of the outdoors such as camps and field trips to certain nature hotspots. Around wellington specifically there is Tawa Recreation Centre and SCOUTS Adventure Plus  where students learn about being prepared indoors and outdoors, Otari-Wilton's Bush have set up a education kit to help guide teachers and staff on what they can do to make learning about the outdoors fun.

With our game we probably also need to consider making a guide for the staff supervising as well as the teachers, giving them tips and tricks on how to motivate and interest the kids as well as give them safety information that specifically relates to our sprout scouts mission.

Mission Journal and Task Cards

Here is the link for our google docs for our mission journal and task cards:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Be-wP-j-MPQWbCTMIwbpn4zG6LG4gyRfzEnsXUxLuH8/edit?usp=sharing

Childrens Garden: Proposed Map and Concepts

Map and concepts found on the Wellington Council website. These will be useful to refer back to when designing our game and mission journal. 

Both images retrieved from: http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/gardens/botanic-garden/attractions/childrens-garden-2016

Mission Journal Layout + Ideas

Client meeting + dossier feedback

- Liked the name and the level ideas so far
- Wanted the sound garden incorporated into the challenge, like "theres an animal coming, make noise to scare it off"
- Incorporate a "lookout" challenge, make it more active?
- Mission journal as one big book.

Dossier Feedback

• Snappy intro, good
• Need a reference list
• Research citing!!
• four P's is better before the macro trends - better intro to the gardens. Not just filler text..
• Not "competition" but collaborated
• Transformation could be expanded on
• Citations
• Citations
• Citations and references
• Lets fix it - why is this important??
• Make the macro trends relevant...
• The visuals were good, appropriate, fun, engaging.

Idea for the map

Today's meeting

Developing the levels

We further developed this level today ignored to refine how it will function.

This level, we initially struggled to come up with the level scenario, but once we got it, the ideas were flowing.

For this level, we had the scenario early on... But now we're struggling to come up with the individual components for the level. 

Team meeting/brainstorm

Today we worked on fleshing out possible ideas for each category (food, fibre, construction, medicine) for the levels of the game. We've decided we will flesh out 3 levels, but suggest the possibility of more and more levels. The levels will get harder with every round, with the language of the missions changing.
Here are my notes from our meeting:

Considering language. Call the children "adventurers" to keep it light hearted and fun.

• Headquarters (HQ)
• Colonel
• Sergeant
• Lieutenant
• Recruit
• Investigator
• Agent
• Detective
• "Sprout  Scouts"

How will we manage multiple groups arriving at once?

Mission Journal

• Interactive
• Multiple mini games
• Stamp rewards (point system?) ... Consider leader board
• Bonus tasks are little and manageable
• Minitasks/ tasks for them to do at home. Something they could easily do without supervision. Leaderboard could incorporate how much of their journal they complete at home?

Game:

• As game progresses, the patient no longer starts with them. They have to find their patient. 
• From telling them what to do, to asking them "what do you need?"

For example level 1: Your patient has a headache, find some mint to heal him. 

Whereas level 3, we would encourage the child to come up with the solution themselves. They would solve the answer first before hunting for the solution. For example: "Your patient has a headache. What can you find that will help him feel better?"

Level One

Medicine

• Patient is already with the kids. 
• Find ginger, 
• lemon, 
• mint/peppermint
• Aloe vera (higher levels?)
• Valerian >> sleepless
• Mint: weightloss, memory's, nausea/headaches
• Sage
• Lavender: (Bloating, fighting dandruff, itchy skin, helps you relax)

NB: Maybe picking plants could be for the higher levels... Less kids on the higher levels, therefore less harm to the gardens/more manageable. 

Possibly brew tea?..collect plants to make a tea.

Docleaf >> common in NZ. Use to put on your cuts. 

Construction

• Hypothetical bridge over a pretend river to get to their patient
• lay wood down to make bridge
• River/lava set out all over garden 
• play around with the the idea of the ground
• Hutt > the floor is already done, they just have to puzzle together the hutt.
• Puzzles for the 1st level
• Have to find resources
• Make a fishing rod
• Music garden 1st level?

Fibre

• banages
• Repair a net to "catch a fish" 
• Patient stuck in tree. Tie a rope to laso up to them and save them.
• Patient is cold, hole in blanket, patch it up.
• Make a rope double their height.
• Plait something
• Stainlog > Find plants they need to dye. Add to stainlog: beetroot black beans, red onions, berries, turmeric, leaves, grass.
• Patient can't finish their job that they've already started because now they're sick. Help them out!
• Repair a blanket. template with holes in it. Thread the string through it (eliminates needle)

Food

• Diabetic, needs something sweet
• Spinach (NZ spinach that grows super fast, so we don't have to worry about over-picking)

Thoughts

• Hypothetical plant, e.g toy tomato plant. you can pick it and clip it back in. 
• Or like orienteering? where you have a clipper onsite, and you have to clip your book. Stamp is attached to plaque on the mission site. 
• Picking left for bonus levels? So they don't have to destroy the gardens. But what about the patient?

Stage 1:

• Stuck on an island with patient.
• Little rocks (stepping stones) so the kids can easily hop across the island to escape it, but the patient is injured, so he can't hop across. 
• Kids have to find resources to lay down as a bridge. 

Stage 2:

• Patient went on an adventure and got lost. 
• We need to save them/find them.
• Then once they find the patient, what is the issue?
• COmfort? > blanket, shelter, tea?
• Music (patient asleep, wake them up)

Food levels:

We dont want the kids to rip out all the plants or pick all the fruits off the tree so we are trying to think of ways that we can avoid this.

Idea for using a pebble or something that will be located where the actual food is so the kids identify the food and where it is. For example: the kids need to find a carrot to improve the patients eyesight... So the kids could go around collecting the painted stones in a basket to be given back to the volunteers at the end. 

We also thought of the name for now: Operation Sprout Scout

plan over the next 5 weeks

Mission Journal Inspiration

We want the journal to be very interactive for the kids, for example: books where you can pull out tabs and lift the flaps etc. 

'Wreck This Journal' was an idea that was suggested for inspiration. This journal, created by Keri Smith, can be personalised, written in, drawn in and wrecked. Each page has different task that the owner has to complete. 

 

         

          

images found: http://wreckthisjournal-ideas.tumblr.com/

Having the personalised mission journal would fit in with the macro trend of 'personalisation' and would also be a cool thing for the kids to bring into their adolescents, something that will be full of memories and information to look back on. 

There could also be a page where the kids could swap a page or get someone to draw something in their book - a way to create friends and connect with other kids. 

Some pages could give the kids bonus points that contribute to the leaderboard. 

Ideas - Leaf rubbings, a page for finger prints of patients. 

This could also include little pointers and tips for the kids, it is able to guide them so that they can do things without the teachers there. There should be a donation for the mission journal as well. The kids could also take their mission journal home and complete pages at home as well, this would encourage them to get outside at home not just while they are at the gardens. 

We want to do a prototype of this journal for our presentation. 

Research:

Creativity.

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh the thinks you can think up if only you try" - Dr. Seuss

"Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." - Charles Mingus

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while." -Steve Jobs.

"In our always–on, always–connected world of television, social media, and on–demand everything, it can be stupidly easy to spend your entire day consuming information and simply responding to all of the inputs that bombard your life." - James Clear

"Open a blank document and start typing. Put pen to paper and sketch a drawing. Grab your camera and take a picture. Turn up the music and dance. Start a conversation and make it a good one. Build something. Share something. Craft something. Make more art. Your health and happiness will improve and we’ll all be better off for it." - James Clear

" It is creative intelligence that lets us imagine, that allows our minds to shape things that are not present, which do not exist and what we never have experienced. Creative intelligence allows us to raise hypotheses, conjecture, to see new possibilities and to speculate." (Vinyets, 2014)

Crayola and Creativity

On the Crayola website, they have a page that encourages the importance of creativity in order to build children's futures. Linked on the page is a pdf document which guides and provides tips for parents to facilitate a means of creative expression through art. They explain how this effects the child's mind in all areas etc. Some cool points made are as follows:

Setting the scene:

"Creative people invent, imagine, problem-solve, create, and communicate in fresh, new
ways. Every career requires creative thinkers: scientists,
engineers, medical researchers, technology innovators, business entrepreneurs, artists,
performers, writers and illustrators, designers, inventors, educators and parents. Those with the ability to “think outside of the box” will lead the future
and make special things happen.
Seeds of creativity live in everyone. You as parents are kids’ first and lifelong teachers. You can nourish sprouting imaginations into strong, growing creative minds.
Nourish kids with creative experiences throughout childhood with art. Encouraging your child’s creativity can be simple and easy to do and fun for everyone." Try these tips:

1. Provide your children with both planned craft projects and spontaneous, simple art experiences they can do on their own. Create an art center in your kitchen or family room so your kids can creatively express themselves.

2. Encourage your children to try new, unique ways of doing things. Don’t expect their artwork to look like samples others have made. Encourage your kids to come up with their own way to do crafts. Ask, “I wonder what would happen if...” to inspire their imagination.

3. Build your kids’ confidence in their own creative abilities. If they ask you to make it for them, reply that you’d love to see what they create. Children’s fresh and unique styles should be valued.

4. Emphasise the enjoyment and the “process” of creating art, more than the results. The aesthetic qualities of a young child’s works are not as important as the process used to create them.

5. Celebrate your children’s creativity by displaying their art. 

Crayola encourages parents to bond with their children through creativity, providing numerous ideas that include:

• Making up games with their children
• Making thank you cards
• Decorating your home with your child's art. (celebrate their creativity, show you value what they create)
• Drawing funny memories, then talk about it with the kids
• Colouring books
• "warm fuzzies" act of kindness box
• Family murals

Presentation Feedback

Good recognition and representation of the learning types that they're trying to hit.

Really liked organic vs technology. Liked that what our idea revolved around. It could be easy to just make something and chuck it on a website, so it's nice going back to the grass roots.

Liked our language "personable and humble manner" "training, recruiting, head quarters and the kids being referred to as adventurers" this all makes the imagination run wild.

Our idea will tie into Anneke's education programmes. Think along the lines of having a staff member there.

Can see a leaderboard and levels working 

Level 1 could be in the childrens garden, level 2 in the wider garden, level 3 could include other partners such as zoolandia etc. Don't let the garden restrict us.

Liked that we went back into the history and tied it to the roots.

This idea would be so much fun for a school group. They could race each other.

Time could be a factor that's against us. We could find ways around it, for the weaving a blanket it could be that theres already a blanket but it's got a hole in it. 

Really love the mission journal idea. Easy to use with schools. They've got something to go back to, if they're doing any follow up activities. Anneke's keen to have a children's garden scrap book journal so this could come in nicely.

Love the idea of a leader board.

Love the idea of the kid being the patient. Encourages further participation and contribution. But if there is a group where they all want to play the game then there could be an alternative option.

Going to be really challenging to see how those levels work and how we can tailor it to all the different age groups. But they love the idea of that they start of little but can get excited about coming back to get the next level up. They'll have a physical thing that they can then show to their friends and say "I got to level 3!" becoming competitive with each other. 

Really good structured presentation. The before, during and after works really well.

Challenge will be to figure out how big it's going to be. Instead of trying to look at everyone maybe we we look at one age group and the journey that they'll go through. Or look at two different ages groups going through twice. 

Work on our speaking for next time. Don't read off the paper the whole time so we can engage with the audience and not be robotic. 

Children's Imagination Research

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703344704574610002061841322

The Power of Magical Thinking

For years, imagination was thought of as a way for children to escape from reality, and once they reached a certain age, it was believed they would push fantasy aside and deal with the real world. But, increasingly, child-development experts are recognizing the importance of imagination and the role it plays in understanding reality. Imagination is necessary for learning about people and events we don't directly experience, such as history or events on the other side of the world. For young kids, it allows them to ponder the future, such as what they want to do when they grow up.

It is important but not necessary for parents to encourage fantasy play in their children, says Dr. Woolley. If the child already has an imaginary friend, for instance, parents should follow their children's lead and offer encouragement if they are comfortable doing so, she says. Similarly, with Santa, if a child seems excited by the idea, parents can encourage it. But if parents choose not to introduce or encourage the belief in fictitious characters, they should look for other ways to encourage their children's imaginations, such as by playing dress-up or reading fiction.

Fantasy play is correlated with other positive attributes. In preschool children, for example, those who have imaginary friends are more creative, have greater social understanding and are better at taking the perspective of others, according to Marjorie Taylor, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon and author of the book "Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them."

Imaginary friends can also be used to help children cope with stress, Dr. Taylor says. "This is a strength of children, their ability to pretend," she says. "They can fix the problem with their imagination."

http://www.parenting.com/article/10-easy-ways-to-fire-your-childs-imagination-21354373

10 Easy Ways to Fire Your Child's Imagination

Imagination: The very word seems to sparkle with possibility, and brings to mind a childlike energy and spontaneity that most of us know we should try to attain more often, even if we don't always know how.

As parents, we know we should foster our children's imaginations  -- but our busy lives often don't seem to have a place for creativity that isn't tied to productivity. Schools, too, don't know how to tackle the not-so-tangible subject.

"I think when you present the idea of imagination to parents, they are generally in favor of it," says Thomas Armstrong, author of Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius ($15, J.P. Tarcher). "Yet when you probe a little deeper and center in on how much time parents and teachers wish to allocate to imagination in the schools, you find a very different attitude." Of course, imagination is something we should all favor. Child-development experts unanimously celebrate the benefits of a healthy imagination. A child with a good imagination is happier and more alert, better able to cope with life's twists and turns, and more likely to grow into a well-adjusted, secure adult.

"Imagination allows children to develop forces of creativity," says Eugene Schwartz, director of teacher-education programs at Sunbridge College, which trains teachers specifically for Waldorf Schools  -- schools known for their systematic nurturing of imagination and creativity in children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. "And that means as adults they are going to be creative individuals."

Being a creative adult doesn't necessarily mean you're a painter or sculptor, Schwartz adds. CEOs and political leaders, too, benefit from being creative, which lets them see things in new ways and find solutions to problems others might miss. That kind of problem-solving and innovative thinking begins with the power of imagination.

How to bring more power to the imagination

Tell stories.

"You don't need a beautifully illustrated book; you don't need a video," says Schwartz. "It's the one-on-one connection, the parent and the child, with the story mediating, that takes us back to the archetype of all education, of all human relationships, in which the older generation passes on the wisdom to the next generation." Storytelling may well be the cornerstone of imaginative development, and doing it well and in a variety of ways is something you can do almost every day  -- even if it is only in brief moments.

Make art.

Paint, draw, mold, build, sculpt. Tactile experiences are important, and giving young children free rein over their work is crucial  -- don't force a yellow splotch on a page to be a sun, for example.

Use natural or generic materials.

Keeping kids in touch with objects from nature inherently inspires their imagination. So does play with open-ended toys  -- such as blocks or sand  -- that have endless possibilities.

Foster a sense of inner space.

Parents should keep young children in particular from being overloaded by images from the media, whether it's television, movies, or computers. "We have to leave kids with enough of an inner space to create their own pictures, their own vision," says Schwartz. "What goes on too often is that we are not turning children into creators; we're turning them into consumers."

Activities

Once you are armed with the above tools, try these 10 activities. Consider them a stepping-stone  -- you can do as many things to foster your child's imagination as your own imagination can dream up.

1. Unpuppets.

Gather a box of assorted household items  -- a strainer, a shoe box, paper cups, a flashlight, whatever you can think of that's not sharp or fragile  -- and have your child create a puppet show using these objects as the "puppets." You'll be amazed at the creatures and characters your child creates.

2. Wacky photos.

Raid your drawers for old photographs that no one will miss  -- the ones where someone had his eyes closed or had a bad hair day  -- and let your child cut them into various bits and pieces. Then get out some glue, construction paper, and markers and have her turn the stray faces and body parts into new people, or create a fantasy picture. You might suggest a general setting such as outer space or a medieval castle, then let your child create the image.

3. Nature story.

Take a paper bag and go on a walk with your child. Try to collect at least 10 nature objects, no more than one of each thing (only one leaf, and so forth). When you get home, have your child make a story from the objects by reaching in the bag and pulling out items one by one for inspiration.

4. Big box.

You know the cliche about how a child gets a large toy for a birthday and ends up playing only with the box? Do your child the favor of skipping the toy and go straight for the box. Find a local appliance store, or buy a large, wardrobe-sized box from a moving-supply store. Set the box up in an open area in your house and let your child decide what he wants it to be  -- a house, a cave, a time capsule. Provide heavy-duty markers for decoration and help your child cut windows or other shapes if he wants them.

5. Fold-a-creature.

Each person begins by drawing the head of an imaginary creature at the top of a blank sheet of paper, being sure to include a neck. When each person is done, she folds down the top of the page to leave just the edge of the neck visible, then passes the paper to the person on the left. Everyone then takes the sheet of paper just received and continues to draw a body from the neck down with arms and a middle. When this part is finished, again each artist folds her paper leaving just the bottom of the middle visible. Once more, papers are passed to the left. Players then draw the bottom part of a body, including legs, on the piece of paper just received. When done, unfold the papers to see the monsters that were jointly created.

6. Art tales.

Go to an art museum  -- a small, local one is fine  -- and slow down for a change. Stand in the middle of an exhibit room and have your child decide from a distance which picture he likes best. Then walk up to it and look at it closely. Ask your child to tell a story about what he sees. Encourage him with open-ended questions. Find another painting and have your child create a story that connects it with the last one.

7. Junk-drawer game.

Everyone has a junk drawer (or two or three). It could be one of those spare drawers in the kitchen or the top desk drawer in your child's room. Have your child go through one drawer and pick out a dozen of the oddest, most lost-looking small objects he can find  -- the less anyone knows what the things originally came from and what they were for, the better. Get a big sheet of cardboard or poster board, some markers, and some dice, and have your child invent a game using all the found pieces. Then sit down and play together.

8. Brush-less painting.

Anyone can paint with a brush. For this activity, find things around the house that your child can paint with that aren't brushes. String will work, or odd bits of sponge, broken pencils, rubber bands, strips of yarn or fabric, apples cut in half, or even a discarded action figure or doll. Spread some newspaper on a table or the floor, lay some washable paint out in small bowls or plates, give your child a large sheet of paper (at least 18 by 24 inches), and see what develops.

9. Reinventing the solar system.

The names we use for the planets come from ancient times and relate the visible behavior of the planets in the sky to the legends and stories about the gods for whom they were named. Give your child the opportunity to rename the planets according to some other scheme. What would she name the planets if she had the chance? And why?

10. Hidden stories.

Have your child spend 15 minutes hunting around the house for three objects he either hasn't noticed or hasn't paid much attention to before. They should come from one of the common rooms of the house, not from anyone's bedroom, and they shouldn't be fragile. When time is up, have him present you with the objects one by one. Your job is to tell him a story about that object  -- where it came from, who it came from, where you were when you got it, why you might have kept it, and just about anything at all. Do that for all three objects. Then have him make a story  -- either with words or pictures  -- that ties all three objects together.

http://www.kathyeugster.com/articles/article007.htm

Currently, one of the most concerning aspects of raising children is the amount of time they spend in front of screens, whether it is TV, DVD, video, computer, playstation, etc. When children focus their attention onto a screen, it is a very passive form of learning or entertainment. Instead of using their own imaginations to learn about the world and create something, children are passive recipients of visual and auditory stimulation that may or may not require some response using fine motor skills. However, this is a very artificial way of learning about the world and does not engage children in a kinesthetic manner using their entire bodies.

Imaginative and creative play is a more natural way for children to learn about the world and does involve the whole body. Children manipulate and touch various play materials. They express themselves through play both verbally and non-verbally. They use all of their muscles and senses to move around. Actively using their large and small muscles as well as their different senses in play, children develop healthy, strong, and complete neurological connections in their brains.

http://www.1stplace.uk.com/the-importance-of-imagination-and-creativity-in-childrens-development/

Why imagination matters so much, and how it can influence your children’s development

Make up stories

Creating your own stories is a great way to spark your children’s imagination and enjoy a family activity, similar to reading a book. Start crafting a story and ask your children to fill in the details. Why not encourage them to become the main characters and create their own adventures?

Use props and toys to make it more interesting

There are so many household items that can be used to create a story. From empty boxes that can become cars and airplanes to dressing up like superheroes, all you need to do is foster creativity in your children to help them grow emotionally and socially. Even small items that can be found in kitchen cupboards or around the house can fuel your children’s fantasy and motivate them to create their own story.

Open-ended toys like wooden blocks or water tables are among the best options as they can be used in many different ways based on your children’s imagination to create castles or entire cities. At 1st Place our approach is inspired by Reggio Emilia and our programme includes activities with open-ended materials to support children’s cognitive and social development. Click here for more information.

Visit a museum or gallery

You might think that galleries and museums are adult-oriented, but a painting or a photo can be the beginning of a story for your children. Observe them and find out what captures their attention. Images are a form of visual storytelling so you can build a story around the artwork and fill in the gaps with your children.

Origami creations

Arts and crafts are not only for the super creative! Challenge yourself and learn a new art like origami or paper cutting. You will be able to find different shapes that are appropriate for your children’s age and have fun while enhancing your children’s and your imagination at the same time. Learning the basic Origami techniques will allow your children to improve coordination and concentration skills.

Limit screen time

Children have now access to a wealth of information and images online. They can see pictures of extinct animals and watch documentaries recorded in distant counties with different cultures. There are also a variety of quality TV programmes. But since videos are already visualised stories, it’s best to use these resources as a starting point for your own story and always spend time discussing the content of the video with your children.

Scientists suggest that since this is the first generation of children that grow up with mobile devices it’s difficult to predict the effects of screen time on their brain, but most of them advice parents to use technology thoughtfully and set limits to screen time.