When a child dreams in solitude, the child knows an existence
without bounds. A child's reverie is not simply a reverie of escape. It is a
reverie of flight.
Bachelard
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Children select and discard interpretations of what objects might be to make sense of the world around them. In a child's imagination sofas become ships and brooms run like horses. They absorb the adult world with the ease of pulling yarn through a sewing card or lifting impressions with Silly Putty. Children fly, make music without instruments or discover perfect worlds watching jet streams swirl in the sky. Mud stuck boots spring high marching across a field waving banners of collected pussywillows. Powerful winds wash hair across cheeks as the sun moves shadows around camps on the grass. Play and discovery accompany every activity and transformation is performed with simple innocence. Any material, object or situation has the potential for expressing a thought or answering a question.
Why does the child's imagination become suppressed by the experience of growing up? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could maintain the childlike spirit of wonder and play.