Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Salla. Salla Wonders, “Why do people daydream?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Salla!

Has this ever happened to you? You hear your name and you suddenly snap back to reality. The teacher is looking at you. She must have been the one who called your name. You wonder what she wants.

Then you realize what’s going on. You’re in class. She is expecting an answer from you. You have no clue what she just asked you. Why? You were daydreaming, of course!

All of us daydream from time to time. Unlike a dream you have while you’re sleeping, a daydream occurs when you’re awake. Like a regular dream, your mind might take you to a place far, far away from where you are.

During a daydream, your concentration is elsewhere. You’re physically in school or at home or wherever you are. But your mind is far away from whatever is going on right in front of you. Reality becomes blurry, replaced by a temporary vision or fantasy taking place in your mind.

Daydreams often revolve around pleasant or happy thoughts. You might daydream about your hopes and dreams. For example, you might daydream about scoring the winning goal in your next soccer match. Or maybe your daydream will be about that special someone asking you to go to the next school dance.

Sometimes daydreams are frowned upon. Like that earlier scenario in which you were daydreaming in class and had no clue what the teacher asked you? That’s not good. During school is not the time to daydream unless that’s part of the lesson!

Employers also often frown upon daydreaming. When there’s work to be done, your boss wants you to work, not daydream. Of course, some jobs require daydreams. For example, daydreaming can be helpful to an author or a scientist. It’s also helpful for someone who creates new Wonders of the Day!

If you visit Wonderopolis regularly, you know how valuable daydreaming can be. Many of the cool things you read about came about as a result of our Wonder Friends daydreaming of new Wonders!

Daydreaming can also help you get into a positive state of mind. Focusing on your hopes and dreams can help motivate you. Daydreams can also provide inspiration to do WONDERful things that you might not otherwise be brave enough to try!

Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.W.3, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2

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