Abstract:

Fairy tales are crucial to the development of child's imagination. They show worldly common truths regarding men and the world around them in a simple manner. Tales and stories introduce the meaning of existence to the child, they show him aims pre-established by humans, teach proper behaviours, and what is more, familiarize children with moral norms rewarded by the society. Therefore, depicting the real world combined with fantastic phenomena in fairy tales compels the child to many reflections and conceptions. Fairy tale-inspired fantasizing gives children an ability to present the effects of their own creation by inventing new stories or transforming the already familiar literary works.

Generally, children's knowledge about reality is objective. Nevertheless, thanks to imagination, they are able to assimilate and master it, i.e. understand it in one's own way. When listening to fairy tales, children are often deeply affected by their contents and, at the same time, their imagination develops and takes on new shapes. Thus, fairy tales affect child's emotional, physical and mental development. In particular, it is reflected in the moulding of creative processes inspired by one's depictions of adventures that fairy tales' main characters have. Through listening, children modify their understanding of the literary work that is read to them and practice the ability to connect separate events. Simultaneously, they develop their concentration skills and attention span, which is especially important for further education and learning.

Imagination is an indispensable element of the life of every child as it allows him to cross the borders of the real world; hence, to find oneself at a fantastic, imaginary time, just like the child's favourite character. In addition, fiction teaches the child the difference between good and evil, truth and lie, and thanks to it, children seek a moral characteristic, i.e. justice. Therefore, children's literature is a factor comprising all kinds of child's experiences and related feelings.

The article presents research on the effect of fairy tales on the development of imagination of preschool children.

Keywords:

Fairy tale, imagination, development, child, preschool.