It’s Make a Difference Monthly! For those of you new to my blog, I am a children’s book author who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children everywhere. I think it’s important that children are taught to be responsible, empathetic and kind individuals and contribute in great ways in the world!
If you want to check out other character trait lessons go here. From April 2012-December 2012 I was super lucky to have Education Bloggers contribute to Make A Difference Monthly.
Creativity
I came across this definition of creativity on the website Growing Creative Kids. I loved the article written here about creativity and recommend you check it out!
First, they [the characteristics of creativity] always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be o fvalue in relation to the objective.
My ideas on teaching children creativity? Three quick steps below!
1. Plan
I know, I know, you can hand a child a crayon and blank piece of paper and allow them to express themselves. However, from all of my child development classes in college and experience as a teacher, I’ve learned that children grow and develop in different ways. Exposing children to a NUMBER of creative mediums is important, allowing them to explore a variety of learning styles. In order to do this, it takes some planning. You can keep it simple. Plan for three activities a week to start. If your child is in school, they are participating in creative lessons there. But remember there is a big push for teachers to teach to the curriculum and we have seen that lessons in the arts have decreased significantly in the last decade.
Where are you going to get these ideas from while you are planning? Welcome to the wonderful world of Pinterest. You will find everything you need by pinning (which is planning weeks in advance) activities to boards you create. Here is one I have called Kids Crafts and another called Cooking with Kids. Follow me and you can start by browsing my pins!
2. Variety
As much as I love painting activities, I know there’s much more out there. When planning activities for your child to get creative at home, try to plan for activities in these different mediums: Art, Crafts, Music, Movement, Pretend Play, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Cooking, Literacy, Mathematics, Experiments, Digital/Auditory (books on youtube or learning apps) and Holiday Activities.
3. Prep & Do
Prep the activities. Remember the dollar store is an excellent resource for inexpensive arts and crafts supplies. Junk drawers are another good place to go 🙂 Have fun spending time with your child. For those working moms, I find when I have something planned and prepped for my daughter, I can get dinner made while she is learning and creating at the kitchen table (unless it’s a messy, must be completely supervised activity!)