Creativity, by definition, is the use of the imagination or original ideas. One can imply from that, in a way, that any person requires a certain amount of creativity to "think outside of the box," be unique, and push the envelope. These are the cornerstones of successful ADULTS in every business and industry in the world. Because of that, I feel it's a parent's responsibility to foster creative thinking in their children.
When our children are young, they're sponges - they take in everything and absorb it as they form their personalities, values, and opinions. As parents, we can cultivate creativity through play and interaction - This doesn't require fancy classes at special academies or going to parenting workshops. It's all about being present in your child's life and giving them exposure to games, toys, and experiences that will help them grow into creative thinkers.
In the Cozy household, we've been on a budget since the moment our son was born. It's not that we weren't financially ready, it's just that kids can be and generally ARE expensive to raise. We also live in California, so things tend to be pretty pricey anyway.
When thinking of ways to keep our son occupied and engaged in the world around him we, through trial and error, found a few really cheap ways to not only keep our son laughing and smiling, but also to inspire him to think and behave creatively.
Get Your Child Outside With a Magnifying Glass: A magnifying glass is a wonderful thing. For only a few bucks, my son and I can enjoy outdoor adventures while we walk our dog. We examine rocks, leaves, bugs - you name it. My son comes up with all sorts of stories about who planted the trees around our house, what the birds might be talking about, and he's convinced the the snails we see are like Turbo from the movie.
Become An Artist: Crayons are my preference for this, but colored pencils and paints serve the same purpose. My son LOVES colors - he even has a detailed list of his ten favorites. He likes to draw our family, our dog, wild animals, roller coasters, and has recently started making greeting cards for us. My favorites are the ones with "I Love Mom" written on the front.
Problem Solve with Puzzles: When he was little, we bought those big 10-piece puzzles for toddlers and our son wasn't at all impressed. However, now that he's six years-old, the more challenging 100-piece puzzles keep him interested. We turn these puzzles into family events, getting all of us at the table, helping him to piece together a puzzle about his favorite story, movie, and even maps of the world.
Adventure in a Book: Think beyond bedtime stories and include books throughout your child's day. It helps with their development of reading skills and also allows them to explore the joy of reading about fairy tale princesses, dashing pirates, super heroes, and even outer-space travel. For my son, the longer the book the better. This process has encouraged his spirit of "make believe" and has made him more interested in the world around him.
Sculpt in 3D Color: Play Doh can be bought just about everywhere and I don't think I've met a child that didn't love the stuff. We've amassed a relatively inexpensive box filled with different colors, shapes & cutters for our son to experiment with. This has helped with his fine motor skills and is developing his ability for artistic expression... even if he always mixes the colors up.
Great nudge on Superbowl weekend! Creativity is so important for self-development--problem solving, a sense of accomplishment, spatial and proportion recognition, etc... Many parents think that everything a child needs to learn will be taught in the classroom, but this is no longer true. Many schools are discontinuing their creative classes! No more art, dance, drama, ... It's becoming more important to encourage this at home.
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