Imagination, Creativity, and Fantasy: A Montessori Perspective

September 30, 2024

So what’s the deal with Montessori and fantasy? Does Montessori encourage creativity? What about imagination? Don’t children love make-believe? 


A lot of the questions we hear like this often emerge due to some misconceptions about the relationship between Montessori philosophy and concepts of fantasy, imagination, and creativity. 


What is imagination? 


Imagination allows us to visualize things that aren’t present or haven’t been experienced directly. We use our imagination to be creative, solve problems, generate ideas, and explore possibilities. Our imagination allows us to take in information and organize it in new and creative ways. Imagination is a central aspect of childhood. As children shift from early childhood into their elementary years, they are able to use their imagination almost like a superpower to explore ideas and concepts throughout time and space.


What is creativity?


Creativity is how we generate new ideas, sometimes in artistic ways. It allows us to come up with original concepts or solutions, often because we are thinking about something in a new or different way. Creativity also helps us transform ideas and approach problems from a unique perspective. It is cultivated over time through exposure to different kinds of sensory input and appropriate freedom and support for creative expression.


What is fantasy?


Fantasy is a diversion from reality. It is the realm of make-believe. We use our imagination to create fantasy because it involves things that are impossible or improbable. But unlike imagination, which can encompass a wide range of ideas, fantasy is focused on the extraordinary and the fantastical. When thinking about or immersed in fantasy, we do not worry much about reality.


One misconception is that Montessori doesn’t allow fantasy. To explore this, we should also recognize that there is self-generated fantasy and imposed fantasy.


Pretend Play vs. Adult-Generated Fantasy


Children love to engage in pretend play, a self-generated form of fantasy. Often, in pretend play, children explore roles they see in real life by pretending to be in those roles. It’s pretend for them, but they are working out what different roles mean. Whether pretending to play school or house or creating a construction scene with excavators, this is young children’s way of processing the world around them. 


Where pretend play can become confusing for young children is when they have seen different kinds of fantastical things that seem real, such as Superman jumping off a building or a normal boy turning into Spiderman by being bitten by a spider. 


Young children are still distinguishing the line between fantasy and reality. It’s worth noting that even if our young children can repeat back that they know something is real or pretend, a true cognitive understanding of the difference doesn’t fully form until children developmentally shift into their elementary years. This is why we sometimes see children trying to get bitten by a spider so they can become Spiderman, or trying to jump off the top of the stairs so they can fly like Superman. 


As adults, we have a tremendous responsibility to allow children to create their own fantasy rather than imposing fantasy on them. For example, superheroes, fairy tales, and fictitious animated characters are adult-created fantasy. When we impose fantasy on our children, even if they like it, we are inadvertently depriving them of the opportunity to develop their own imagination. If children are in awe of adult-created fantasy, their creative expression often becomes more limited because they are trying to recreate something others have imagined.


The Real World is Amazing


From birth to about age six, children effortlessly absorb everything about the world. They are like sponges! This is the time when we want to introduce children to all sorts of exciting information. The options are almost limitless: species of mammals, names of flowers, land and water forms, countries in all the continents, types of clouds, pollinators, geometric solids, types of triangles, and the list goes on. 


Children are fascinated by the natural world. They gain so much inspiration from their sensory explorations and interactions in their environment. Neurologically, young children are developing mental order and categorization for all their future understanding. We want to give them real information so that they have a solid foundation for their imagination and creativity to truly soar. 


If we introduce children to fantastical, unreal things during the early years of their development, we divert their learning from what is amazing and wondrous about the world. In the process, we also create unnecessary confusion. For children who are still learning to discern the difference, the world of fantasy can be disorienting and even, at times, frightening.


As adults, we understand the difference between reality and fantasy, and there are times when we enjoy the diversion into the world of fantasy. For our youngest children, let’s give them the gift of building their understanding of the truly remarkable world around them. By doing so, we help them lay the foundation for a rich imaginative, and creative life. 


Curious to see more about how Montessori inspires creativity and imagination? Schedule a visit to our school. We’d love to connect with you!

Independence: Let Them Struggle

By Katherin Castro Hoyos, Lead Toddler Guide • October 22, 2026
In the Montessori environment, we talk a lot about independence. But how does independence actually develop? How can we, as adults, support a child on this path? One of the first steps toward independence begins with movement. As the child starts to separate from the caregiver physically —moving, crawling, walking, reaching, and exploring— they begin to discover something profound: I can do things by myself. I can reach for something without being carried there. I can move toward what interests me. I can try. But before children can become independent, they depend on us. And the way we relate to them during this period of dependence makes a difference in their journey toward independence. From Doing For the Child to Doing With the Child At the beginning, especially in a toddler classroom, we do things with the child, not for the child. We guide them through each step. We show them how to push their pants down, where to place the diaper when it is wet, how to get water from the sink into a pitcher and how to pour the water, how to touch others gently, how to ask for a hug, and how to respect and accept it when someone does not want a hug. Sometimes we show them once and sometimes we show them what feels like an innumerable number of times! And then, they start doing it by themselves. Isn't this amazing? This is the growth of independence, and alongside independence grows something equally important: self-confidence. Independence Does Not Mean Doing Everything Alone At the same time, being independent does not mean that we no longer need other people. Human beings are interdependent. We rely on one another, learn from one another, and grow through our relationships with one another. Needing someone does not mean that we are incapable. This is one of the beautiful things about the mixed-age Montessori environment. The teachers are not the only ones showing children how to do things. When a child has mastered a skill, we can invite that child to show another child who has not yet mastered it. “Can you show Eli how to clean his nose?” The child will happily help. In that simple interaction, one child is learning a new skill, while the other is experiencing what it feels like to contribute and share knowledge. Both children are growing. This is interdependence: I can do things for myself, and I can also be part of something bigger than myself. Let Them Struggle If we want independence to develop, the child needs opportunities to struggle. Let them struggle when they are trying to put on their socks. Let them attempt to pour the water even when some of it spills. This can be difficult for us as adults because sometimes it is much easier and faster to simply do it for them. We can see the sock is inside out and we know exactly what needs to happen next. But if we always step in before the child has had the opportunity to try, we may unintentionally communicate: You need me to do this for you. Instead, we can practice patience, staying close, observing and offering just enough help for the child to continue. This does not mean leaving a child alone with frustration. It means staying with them without taking over. Sometimes the right amount of help might be showing the movement slowly. We can exaggerate the movement so the child can clearly observe it and begin to internalize it. Sometimes it might be holding the sock open while allowing the child to put their foot inside. Sometimes it might simply be saying, “You can do it. Keep trying.” The Gift of Trying Again Frustration is not necessarily something we need to rescue children from. It is a feeling they can experience, move through, and learn from —with the presence of a supportive adult. When we allow children to experience the difficulty of something while communicating, “I know you can do this”, we give them an opportunity to discover their own competence. And when they finally succeed, no one can take that experience away from them. They have learned something much bigger than how to put on a sock. They have learned: Something can be hard, and I can keep trying. I can ask for help when I need it. I can try again. These experiences become part of the child's developing sense of self. They begin to internalize a sense of competence that will stay with them long after the sock. Independence comes through interdependence, and the beauty of childhood —and of being human— is found in this ongoing dance of holding and letting go, over and over again.

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