It isnt enough to simply say Just write a story. Kids, unless they love writing and live their lives as devoted daydreamers, wont react.

Most will sit there a bit stunned before finally asking What about? Its a good question.

The brain is a muscle, and like all muscles works better when its had a chance to warm up.

Play sport, and a good warm up can last half an hour, before the body is ready for what youre expecting and hoping it will do. The same goes for the brain, but we dont respect that.

Kids crawl out of bed, gulp down a plate of breakfast, or not, scamper to school in time to play for a while or turn up right on the bell. Either way, theyre not ready for maths, English or whatever else is thrown at them.

There are exceptions, those who presented with any academic challenge knuckle down to it and are finished, receiving top marks, achievement awards and pats on the back before others have even got their name and date on the top of the paper.

Using the imagination is the key to warming the brain up, especially with children.

For years they live in an imaginary world anyway, imitating heroes and villains both inside the house and outside, and within a new, exciting virtual world they find on the screen. The reason children love computer games so much is because that world is so closely aligned and similar to their own.

A cardboard box will be thrown away by a parent or teacher who isnt thinking straight, but remember what boxes used to be when you were younger. The same still applies today.

A simple warm-up can be What is a box? Its Christmas morning. Theres a big present at the foot of the Christmas tree. You tear the paper off, rip the present out of the box, look at it, smell it, shake the contents around, see what it tastes like and give it a good feel. A minute later the present is lying by itself discarded with all the rest, while youre clambering around inside a cardboard box for the rest of the morning. You cant wait to get back to it after lunch either. What is your box?

Get ready for some wild answers. A spaceship, motorbike, tunnel into the underworld, dolls house, fishing boat, a bomb I have to defuse but I cant and it explodes, a lions cage (keep an eye on and protect the house cat during these times), a submarine, castle, house, car, formula one racing car, star fighter, a gold mine, a way of getting downstairs. Did you hear that last one right? What? How many of you have climbed into a cardboard box and pushed yourself off at the top of the stairs. Alarmingly 90% of the hands in the class go up. Are you serious? 30 nodding heads.

There is an epidemic of kids throwing themselves downstairs in cardboard boxes. Did you know that? I didnt. Kids live to have fun. This is their sole function in life. We, however, want them to learn.

They do too of course, but theyve been doing it their way since they were born. Now they suddenly have to do it another way. Make learning fun, warm them up with fun activities before they go to school or start a lesson, or get into anything too serious, and they will learn. Its what kids do; its how they learned to do everything they discovered before they ever went to school.

Work with the imaginations of young people and you will re-discover a world youd almost forgotten. The most under used resource in education.