Sparking Imagination

What's In This Kit?
This training kit is designed to help Learners understand the importance of imaginative play in children’s development and how providing recycled and open-ended materials opens the doors of imagination and promotes executive function in young children. It contains:

• Expected training outcomes and learning objectives
• Training research
• Training models
• Training benchmarks
• Preparation and implementation steps
• Handouts
• The articles “Imaginative Play During Childhood: Required for Reaching Full Potential” by Karen Stephens and “Recycled Materials” by Lella Gandini
• References
• Resources
• Training Certificate for Learner - Certificate of Attendance and Participation
• Training Certificate for Trainer - Award Certificate

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audiences for this training kit are beginning and intermediate Learners who are working with toddlers to school-agers. This kit helps Learners understand the importance of open-ended materials in promoting imagination and executive function in young children by infusing recyclable materials into their environments.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1.5 hours. Implementation and actual training time is 5.0 hours, which includes 2.0 hours of face-to-face training and 3.0 hours of independent study.

Training Outcomes:

1. Learner will define ‘executive function’ and cite at least two reasons why it is an important skill for young children to develop.
2. Learner will describe how imaginative play helps promote children’s executive function.
3. Learner will cite at least two ways to encourage imaginative play using recyclable materials in the classroom.

These training outcomes address the following:

• National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria (2005). www.naeyc.org. 2.J.01; 2.J.02; 2.J.03; 2.J.04; 2.J.05; 2.J.06; 2.J.07; 1.D.02; 1.D.05
• Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register, Nov. 5, 1-6, Volume 6), Number 215). www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/. 1304.21(a)(i-ii); 1304.21(a)(ii-iii); 1304.21(c)(1)(i); 1304.21(c)(1)(vi)
• National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, National Association of Child Care Professionals (2005). www.nacc.org. D16; E4.

Note: Downloadable PDFs are only available for download in pdf format. Directions for downloading follow immediately after purchase.