Dress-up stations and animated/cartoon characters, toys and décor are noticeably absent in a Montessori early childhood classroom. You may have heard it said that Montessori is “too serious” because it discourages “imaginative” play, or that there is no imaginative play in Montessori. Both statements are false, and we are here to shed light on the truth about Montessori and imaginative play.
First, it’s important to distinguish between the imagination and fantasy. Fantasy is imagination, but imagination is not fantasy. Let us explain.
The imagination is the “ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful” or “the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.” (Oxford Languages) Imagination is formed from within, from an individual’s own thoughts and experiences, and, for a child, may include such things as playing “doctor”, “shopping” at store, going to get a “hair cut”, a construction worker making a “road” out of blocks.
Fantasy is the “faculty or activity of imagining impossible or improbable things; unrealistic mental images.” Fantasy includes things such as superpowers and unicorns, magic and the ability to fly. A Psychology Today article in 2019 indicated that research showed that 91% of children’s popular media shows involved supernatural, or fantasy. Children engage in fantasy play not because of their own creative inclinations, but because that is what they are exposed to, even though they are not developmentally ready to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Humans flying through the air? Walking on water? Bouncing over 12-story buildings? Other fantastical beings (that remain unnamed) that we hear about during popular holidays? Young children accept it all with wide-eyed wonder!
Dr. Montessori understood that interaction with reality was important at a child’s early stages of development and encouraged imaginative play within the realm of reality. She said, “The true basis of the imagination is reality. . . intelligence, reasoning, and distinguishing one thing from another prepares a cement for imaginative constructions.”
In the Montessori classroom, we create an environment in which a child can discover themselves and their world – the concrete, natural world around them. We encourage them to use their senses to explore so that their imagination can then take flight, and when their development guides them to it, to form “new ideas or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.”
In so doing, does the Montessori classroom withhold something valuable from the child? Dr. Montessori’s materials and method were refined through the scientific approach: observation and experimentation. When she introduced traditional, imaginative play toys in her classroom, she saw that children naturally showed preference for the real activities and neglected imaginative play. This observation has been reinforced by modern research! “Children expressed strong preferences for engaging in real activities over their pretend equivalents.” (Source.) For example, if offered a toy kitchen or an activity that involved real food preparation, children always chose the real activity. If offered a very basic, loose replica of a dump truck and a very accurate, precise replica, they would choose the latter. If offered a wooden fruit and wooden knife to “cut” and a real apple and an apple slicer, they would choose the latter. Sarah Werner Andrews, a certified Montessori trainer says, “The child will do what nature tells them they must; whether it is touching or pretending.”
Children naturally gravitate towards reality, and so, even more so in a time where children are surrounded opportunities to view fantasy through media sources, our classrooms are a sanctuary – a place filled with meaningful, purposeful activity that cultivate in the child independence, responsibility, dignity and purpose. Instead of being entertained or entertaining oneself through fantasy, a child delights in discovery and experimentation and through experiences that prepare them for life – the things that their development naturally indicates they need and most enjoy.
