Do you remember the time you emptied your pockets excitedly to showcase the treasures you found at the park? But your parents turn to you and said, “They are just rocks, put them down. We are not taking them home!”
At Pachamama our environments are surrounded with these little, and not so little, rocks because we understand how important it is for children’s play. You see kids pick up crystals at markets and stores and just hold them in their hands, roll them around and look at them from different angles. They look at they way the light plays on the stone. The look on their face is priceless and heart-warming.
Children see the world differently to adults. Then they look at these crystals and stones and they see possibilities. They see little people in their sandcastles. They see a captain on their boat floating downstream. They see a fire starter or the secret gem that holds all their super powers.
Children see past a rock’s hard, rough, dirty edges. They see its potential. They see through the rock. Become the rock. They are the rock.
Whether you believe in the healing power of crystals or not, you cannot deny that when playing with rocks, you need imagination – the key stepping stone in a children’s development. Imagination is essential for their ability to form new ideas and concepts without needing to see or sense something.
It enhances a child’s ability for creativity and resourcefulness. Even prominent and inspirational scientists such as Einstein understood the importance of imagination for children:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
At Pachamama, we endeavour to spark that imagination at all times. Our pre-school Kindy room and school-aged Activity Centre both have a beautiful large amethyst geode “coves” cut in half so the inside shines out to the room.
The crystal properties are said to have outstanding healing and cleansing powers. It does this by opening intuition and enhancing the psychic abilities of a person. While you might need a lot of imagination to believe in the crystal powers there’s no denying the sheer beauty of the structure. And that is what catches the curious eyes of children playing in these environments.
Children are filled with intrigue and wonder and begin to formulate ideas and stories about how the crystal got there and what it is used for. It engages them in uninterrupted FLOW. There it is, that magic word, flow…
Flow is one of life’s highly enjoyable states of being, wrapping us entirely in the present and helping us to be more creative, productive, and happy. Imagination for children gifts them the ability to relax into flow. Flow is when a child can internally develop many mental and emotional skills in solitude ultimately strengthening their ability to self regulate.
Although the jury is still out on the healing properties of crystals, Pachamama believes in the ‘no harm in trying’ strategy and sprinkles these gorgeous crystal sculptures all around the place (including the staff room) to bring in those good vibes.
Next time your child empties a pocket full of rocks, it might be time to take a step back and see the potential.
