In our previous article, we spoke about the importance of creativity in child development and why it’s something that every parent, guardian, and caretaker should nurture.
In this article, we share 5 fun ways to get your child to be creative. Creative play fosters problem-solving skills, ingenuity, and improves motor skills among other things.
Children usually take a keen interest in creative activities. This is great because creative activities like drama, music, singing, dancing, art, and craft are great for learning and development in these years. The preschool years can be a very creative time and can help children:
One of the easiest ways to foster creativity in your child is to allow them to engage in creative play. However, there are different forms of creative play, which we discuss below.
Open-ended toys encourage your child to create whatever their imagination allows them to. There are no rules or expected outcomes with open-ended toys.
Examples of open-ended toys include:
Children have wild imaginations and can take on any character they can think of. Allow them the opportunity to invent wonderful scenarios by dressing up, using safe household objects as props in their story, and anything else they can find to add to the experience.
This kind of play helps children develop communication, problem-solving, and social skills by trying out different roles and characters and creating an imagined dialogue with peers or even imaginary characters in their story. Avoid telling your child how to do something better or different to how they are doing it. Instead, allow them to create their own story and watch how it unfolds. You can even play along to show them that creativity is not only for children.
Arts and crafts are not only fun but can really help children develop their creative skills. Additionally, it helps with fine motor skills through the use of scissors, sticking small objects or pieces of paper together, and drawing or coloring in. Allow them to cut pictures out of magazines, give them colorful paper to work with, and provide as many different supplies as possible. This will really stimulate their creative juices. Again, try not to tell your little one how to do things, unless they are asking for your help and never leave your child unsupervised with sharp objects or potentially harmful substances.
Being outside in nature is therapeutic for everyone, even adults. When children spend time outside, they are able to imagine a whole new world using plants, rocks, creatures, and anything else they find in their environment. Children need to get their little hands and feet dirty sometimes (within reason, of course) and you should avoid running after them trying to keep them sparkling clean. Give them some time to spend outside, let them play and explore, and give them a nice bath afterwards.
Children cannot escape into their own unique imagination if you are interfering with everything they do. When it’s time for them to relax (homework and chores are finished), give them some freedom to do whatever they want. Not only does this let them enjoy the limitless boundaries of their imagination, but it also fosters a sense of independence in your child, and it shows them that you trust them.
Creative play is a powerful tool which offers numerous benefits for your developing child.
Our programs are designed to nurture creativity during crucial developmental stages. Please feel free to contact us for more information.
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