Where did Imagination Corner start?
After working in Education for many years with 4 and 5 year olds I saw a need for children to play and have fun whilst using their imagination. Having my own children and now grandchildren I see a window of play which is sometimes forgotten. There is a lot of soft play areas, which is needed for a child’s health and growth, however this is an active type of play. At Imagination Corner I provide a safe space where children can play in a quieter and calmer way exploring and understanding the world around them.
What is Imagination Corner?
Imagination Corner is a safe, warm and friendly place where children can explore real life events through play. The role play experience comes from many different scenarios from the Vets to the Hairdressers. Then they can imagine a trip to the beach on a boat or a fire engine ride and lots more.
I have sourced the play items from various platforms from new to preloved toys. At Imagination Corner we strongly believe in reuse and repurposed and with that in mind the majority of the play equipment is wooden with sustainability at the forefront of my mind. Additionally the toys are hard wearing thus meaning less goes into landfill and where plastic is used it is reusable.
Why is imagination so important to children’s development?
Imaginative play has many benefits it:
- promotes conversations and the use of language or facial expressions to describe the experience.
- supports children to role play different experiences to represent events and situation in their own lives.
- provides the children the opportunity to play alongside others who are engaging in the same theme.
- allows children to grow in confidence to play with others whilst sharing the toys.
Social Skills
Role play helps to build a child’s social skills by working on real life activities with other children and learning to lead or follow the play.
Communication
By experiencing different scenarios the children will develop their communication skills by using words to describe what they are doing. For example “the bed is too small” or “put it next to the chair”. This is key in developing the child’s language around spatial awareness or size comparison.
Different scenarios
All of the different role play scenarios are based on real life experiences. This includes the vets, the shop, a building site, the hairdressers and home corner. Each of these scenarios will be regularly rotated and we will welcome any suggestions.
Tuff Spot
The tuff spot is designed to be an inviting themed tray to build your child’s cognitive and fine motor skills which includes picking up small objects with tweezers. The theme will change often and will link to popular books or cultural celebrations.
Meet the Team
Vicki – Founder of Imagination Corner
Jay – Our maintenance Team
Ebony – Social Media and Website Guru
Karen & Zara – Volunteers at Imagination Corner.