Imaginative play is cognitively enhancing

I saw this status on my Facebook feed and it made my day. It was written by one of the 3rd grade teachers at a school I previously worked. She had overheard her daughter, a vibrant and enthusiastic elementary schooler, exclaim, “Yay! A free box!” I LOVED THIS. We have so many children now who get exactly the toy they desire, rather than having to use sticks as swords, or use their imagination with empty boxes. Imagination and creativity are vital to a mentally flexible and entrepreneurial, problem-solving mind. Play-based learning, especially with items that require imaginative thinking, is so important, and so many caregivers forget that.