The educators have begun exploring the ‘language of imagination’ with the Wattle Room children as it is an Outcome within the Victorian Early Years Curriculum as well as an important disposition that the children will need for the future. As Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Our initial exploration of imagination has involved looking at imaginary animals and using the provocation of a picture book by Eric Carle that has an image of an animal made up of different animals. The children were invited to create their own animal, with the educators encouraging them to think of different animal body parts before beginning their drawing. When they had finished drawing, the educators asked the children to describe their animal, where their animal lives, what it eats and what it does all day. We have now begun delving into where our imagination comes from, the children are also creating a visual representation of this.

“Imagination is when you think of something that is not real.” – Charlie.

“You just think of it and it goes in your brain, the picture of it.” – Hunter.

“There is a pipe that sends things all the way up to your brain.” – Charlie.