What does it mean to be an early childhood teacher in a time of pandemic? Which stories remain constant in our profession and which are lost to the hand of physical distance? This narrative inquiry explores the persistent role of story in the creation of the body of the classroom community, and the sustaining of a practice of an early childhood…

The authors review the research on children's imagination and fantasy as they relate to children's socio-emotional and cognitive development and link those findings to children's academic and classroom competence. Specifically, children who are imaginative and/or fantasy prone tend to have better coping skills and the ability to regulate their…

The creation and cultivation of an imaginary companion is considered to be a healthy form of pretend play in early childhood, but there tends to be a less positive view of older children who have them. To test the extent that having an imaginary companion in middle school is associated with positive or negative outcomes, an ethnically diverse…