Educating your child should not only be left in the hands of the teacher. At home, there are several ways of teaching or educating your little ones beyond reading and writing. And an important part of a child’s education has to do with encouraging their creative side. Unfortunately, in the modern world, parents can easily lose sight of nurturing their children’s creative sides - and relying on color books alone may not be enough. So, in this article, we will take a look at some ways to boost and nurture your child’s creativity.
Create space for creativity
This does not mean that you have to set an entire room apart or fill it with fancy musical instruments. In most cases, it is enough to simply provide easy access to different kinds of inexpensive art supplies neatly grouped in an art cart or basket. You can also add some creative writing materials to the collection, and dedicate a drawer to the supplies as the collection begins to grow. StudenTreasures Publishing has a lot of printable creative writing materials that you can add to the collection. The big idea here is to provide the child with the basic things they need to inspire their naturally creative sides. You can also add table space to the collection to make it easier for your kids to create something when the inspiration hits.
Avoid controlling and managing
First of all, allow the kids to break a few rules. For example, you can allow them to color outside the lines. Also, try not to control what color to use and what to paint or create. This only limits them and does not allow their creative imaginations to run wild. In short, let them create and play with as little intrusion from you as possible. And oh, allow them enough room to be a little bit messy, if that is what it takes. Giving your children complete freedom over their creative process will enable them to develop a natural understanding and appreciation of how things work while helping to promote flexibility.
Allow them to be bored
This is one trick a lot of parents may not be aware of - using boredom to encourage creativity. But this actually works. When you engage your kids in many activities that keep their minds busy, they do not have the opportunity to explore on their own. One of the most effective ways of igniting creativity in children is by putting them in a situation where their minds have to come up with their own ideas to entertain themselves, and that will not happen when they are constantly entertained.
Limit the use of electronics
There are several kinds of kids videos and educational materials available on smartphones and tablets - making electronic gadgets a key part of the world of the modern child. But if you want to help stimulate your child’s creative side, then you need to take the hard decision to postpone introducing your kid to electronics. Doing this will help to encourage the child to interact with the world around them, instead of being glued to tv and computer screens all the time. Although learning apps and video games have certain benefits, they are only limited by the extent to which kids can interact with them. The world around kids, on the other hand, offers limitless creative opportunities.
Give them the power to choose
Allow the little ones to choose their own activity when it is time to play. This simple move is enough to send their minds searching for possibilities, and you can make this a regular part of your weekly routine. For example, you can pick one night of the week, gather your kids around the dining table, and let them brainstorm on what fun activities to have for the following week. Of course, you will need to veto some of the ideas. But you will be helping to encourage their creative little minds.
Share your passions with them
Maybe there is some activity you love to engage in or some hobby you have. For example, you may love to paint, dance, listen to a particular kind of music, take photographs, or crafts. You can share your passions with them by letting them see and observe you. You can also encourage them to join you while sharing with them the reasons why you love doing what you do. So many creative adults today were inspired by the passions their parents had when they were children.
Follow their lead sometimes
There is nothing wrong with putting the kids in charge once in a while. On the contrary, there are a lot of things right with it as far as encouraging their creative side is concerned. For example, when playing with Legos or other toy building games, instead of deciding what should be built or created, let the kids take the lead and follow suit. And, during the process, ask them questions - try to understand why they choose a particular project.
Encourage their interests
Some children identify their passion very early, while some just love to play with anything that comes their way. But if your child shows a lot of interest in a particular creative activity, you can encourage them by looking for avenues to get them more involved in it. For example, if your child loves the guitar. You can get him/her a guitar made for kids, and find out how to start guitar lesson training for them. If your little fella loves building with Legos, you can also find books that explore building stuff with Legos or even join a toy building club.
Focus on your own kids
One of the mistakes that most parents make is comparing their kids with other children in terms of creativity or talent, thus pushing them into becoming more like those other children. Every child is unique and gifted with individual talents. Therefore, it is important to focus on identifying and encouraging your child’s creativity instead of trying to compare them with other children or trying to force them to become like others. Doing this may only push them into something they may not be interested in or comfortable doing.
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