|
Mommy Nature's Preschool
Blog |
"Where did he come up with that?"
Kids often amaze us with their imaginative ideas, and we should give
ourselves a pat on the back for playing a role in this development.
Innovative thinking is essential for success in school and in life, and it's
our job as parents to nurture our kids' innate desire to be creative.
Inventive play fosters original thinking, an asset when children are
confronted with new situations. By providing activities that use their
creativity and imaginations, we are giving our children an important tool to
deal with life down the road.
Give them ideas.
Children come up with things to do on their own, but we also need to provide
them with new ideas of interesting activities. Think back to what you did as
a kid. Did you write a diary, create elaborate puppet shows, or sing and
dance for relatives? Share ideas from your own childhood experiences. Offer
creative writing ideas like writing an episode for a favorite television
show or writing a new ending to a favorite story. Craft projects offer
another outlet for inspiring imaginations. Craft kits, especially those from
Curiosity Kits and
ALEX, offer a wide
variety of unusual and fun projects. They've brought us a long way from the
sock puppets of our youth. These manufacturers offer ideas and supplies to
make such things as scrapbooks, powerballs, soaps, candy, sun catchers,
dolls, planes, dinosaurs, jewelry treasures, and lots of decorative items.
Kids can gather ideas from the instructions, and then give the projects
their own unique touches.
Keep ideas fresh.
Pick up any parenting magazine and you'll find lots of ideas to get those
creative juices flowing in your kids. Search the web and check out craft
stores. Keep a journal or file for magazine clippings and ideas as you find
them. Stockpile so that you'll know how to answer the whiny "I'm bored" call
from your kids.
Give them freedom.
Once you've given your kids some suggestions and supplies, step back and see
which they choose and where they go with them. This unstructured play time
gives kids an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles. Watch as they
incorporate your ideas and branch out on their own.
Set an example.
Chances are, if you are a creative person, your child will be too. You
display creativity in your everyday activities like when you reason with a
disgruntled child, change lyrics to songs, and maybe even do some
interpretive dancing to entertain a toddler. Your children see your
silliness and it rubs off on them. You surely use creativity to juggle your
and your family's schedules. It's a great idea to point out to your kids how
you use creativity in your daily life.
As parents, we always try to do the very best for our kids and provide
opportunities that will help them mature into intelligent, capable adults.
Nurturing their creative spirits helps them along this road. With their
well-developed imaginations, maybe they'll turn it into a yellow brick, pink
polka-dotted road with sparkles!
Susan Stump is the mother of two children and the owner of ChildCrafter, Co.
- Craft Kits and Subscriptions that Inspire a Child's Imagination. This
work-at-home-mom offers a great selection of creative craft kits from ALEX,
Quincrafts, and Curiosity Kits from her catalog and website
Childcrafter.com.
|
|
