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Imaginations Gone Wild
Fostering Your Toddler's Creative Side
By Laura Cone
When Rachael Carnes of Eugene, Ore., tells people she is a dance instructor, she suspects they imagine her in front of a mirror demonstrating the fourth position in ballet to a class of toddlers.
Carnes, who founded and serves as executive director of Sparkplug Dance, a nonprofit organization designed to spark and nurture young children's imaginations, is more likely to encourage toddlers to pretend they are birds building a nest together and then flying away.
"We are constantly in all the classes using our imaginations," says Carnes. "It's not just imitative dance class. That is so limiting. It's like taking someone and teaching art wearing boxing gloves. It's missing a huge component, and that compenent is creativity."
When it comes to encouraging imagination in toddlers, Carnes, who has a 3-year-old daughter and is pregnant with her second child, believes it starts with playtime and mimicking the creeping and crawling patterns of early infancy.
"I have children come to classes who don't understand what perspiration feels like," she says. "They are uncomfortable with getting warm or being physically active. And the toll for this inactivity is high for the individual's health, her learning capabilities and for our society in general."
To foster a toddler's imagination and encourage more tummy time, blow bubbles as you sing a favorite song. Play hide-and-seek, pull your toddler on a magic carpet ride or hold your toddler while he or she is balanced on a beach ball, Carnes says.
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