The last week in September is National Keep Kids Creative week. This idea for this week came from Bruce Van Patter, an author and illustrator of children's books. The week is designed to encourage kids and schools to help children stay creative by incorporating creative activities into each day. Unfortunately in today's hectic world many children are losing their creative abilities because they don't use them on a regular basis. Buys parents and families often rely on the schools to provide creative activities, but this is not always possible. Budget cuts and loss of revenue have required many schools to reduce or eliminate creative programs such as art and music. Children need to use their creativity regularly to keep in practice. One key way to help children use their creativity more is to provide open ended toys, games and activities. Open ended means there is no right or wrong way to play. An example of some open ended toys are dolls, trucks and clay. Unlike video games there is no right or wrong way to play.
Creative Activities and Game
Children love to play games of all kinds. Games such as hopscotch and tag can be altered in many different ways by adding and changing rules. There are many different variations of tag and kids can practice their creativity by making new rules for this or any other game. For example if they enjoy playing hide and seek they can create a new way to play by reversing the normal rules. Instead of one person seeking and everyone else hiding they can have one person hide and everyone else seek. The first person to find the hider gets to hide in the next round. This is a simple reversal of the rules, but creates a new game and is only one example of a creative change. It is important to emphasize there is no right or wrong answer.
Kids who need practice thinking creatively will benefit from playing the 'idea' game. This is a simple game that can be played anytime as it doesn't require anything but creativity. Choose an object randomly and ask everyone to name as many different uses for that object as possible. The more outrageous the idea, the better it is. This will get them to start thinking creatively about everyday objects. For example choose a fork. Eating with a fork is obvious, but what about combing hair or as a bracelet? Play this game in the car or at the dinner table to help boost everyone's creativity. School age kids in particular may be so used to having someone tell them what to do or the 'correct' way to do something that they are unable to think creatively without some practice.
Provide toys for children to make their own activity or game. Balloons, balls, sidewalk chalk and buckets are all items that can be combined into a new game or used to play with. They are open ended and don't have any right or wrong way to play.
Creative Crafts
Craft and art activities are a great way to encourage creativity in kids. These activities can be as easy as drawing with markers or as complex as making a clay sculpture. The most important part is not to have a 'right' way to create the final craft. To get the kids started have everyone sit around a table and give each person a blank sheet of paper and something to write with. Everyone makes a single straight line on the paper and then passes it to their left. Then everyone draws a circle on the paper and passes it to the left again. Continue this process of drawing one shape and passing it to the left until everyone has drawn a curved line, triangle, rectangle and heart shape on the paper. When finished everyone can show their paper to the group. This is an easy project to get everyone thinking creatively.
Other crafts can use paint, clay, markers, crayons or small items found around the house. Create a stained glass window with markers on acetate or wax paper. Cut colored paper into different shapes and glue them to a sheet of cardboard to create a mosaic. Gather items such as colored leaves from outside and create a collage. These are a few ideas, but there are many craft ideas available from craft stores, in books and online.
Consider attending craft classes and demonstrations to learn more about a specific craft. An example is scrapbooking. This popular pastime can allow people of all ages to create their own scrapbook with their own individual style. There are many resources to help beginners get started. This is also a great idea to spend some fun time together as a family.
Family Night
Families often struggle with carving out time for the family to spend together, doing something fun. Some families have started having a family night once a week or once a month. During this night all electronic devices are turned off and everyone spends a couple of hours together. This is a great way to improve everyone's creativity. Here are a few ideas:
* Play a game of charades or choose a board game such as Cadoo.
* Bake some cookies and decorate them
* Build a house of cards and compete for the biggest house.
* Make up your own game or activity.
Family night is a great way to schedule some uninterrupted time as a family. The kids may not always want to participate, particularly during the teen years, but once it is important for families to connect and spend fun time together.
Celebrating National Keeping Kids Creative week once a year doesn't help kids the rest of the year. Children need constant practice to ensure their creativity and imagination gets used. There are many resources available online and in book stores with ideas for games, crafts and even creativity exercises. Try a few of these ideas and see what happens to your children's creativity.
Creative Activities and Game
Children love to play games of all kinds. Games such as hopscotch and tag can be altered in many different ways by adding and changing rules. There are many different variations of tag and kids can practice their creativity by making new rules for this or any other game. For example if they enjoy playing hide and seek they can create a new way to play by reversing the normal rules. Instead of one person seeking and everyone else hiding they can have one person hide and everyone else seek. The first person to find the hider gets to hide in the next round. This is a simple reversal of the rules, but creates a new game and is only one example of a creative change. It is important to emphasize there is no right or wrong answer.
Kids who need practice thinking creatively will benefit from playing the 'idea' game. This is a simple game that can be played anytime as it doesn't require anything but creativity. Choose an object randomly and ask everyone to name as many different uses for that object as possible. The more outrageous the idea, the better it is. This will get them to start thinking creatively about everyday objects. For example choose a fork. Eating with a fork is obvious, but what about combing hair or as a bracelet? Play this game in the car or at the dinner table to help boost everyone's creativity. School age kids in particular may be so used to having someone tell them what to do or the 'correct' way to do something that they are unable to think creatively without some practice.
Provide toys for children to make their own activity or game. Balloons, balls, sidewalk chalk and buckets are all items that can be combined into a new game or used to play with. They are open ended and don't have any right or wrong way to play.
Creative Crafts
Craft and art activities are a great way to encourage creativity in kids. These activities can be as easy as drawing with markers or as complex as making a clay sculpture. The most important part is not to have a 'right' way to create the final craft. To get the kids started have everyone sit around a table and give each person a blank sheet of paper and something to write with. Everyone makes a single straight line on the paper and then passes it to their left. Then everyone draws a circle on the paper and passes it to the left again. Continue this process of drawing one shape and passing it to the left until everyone has drawn a curved line, triangle, rectangle and heart shape on the paper. When finished everyone can show their paper to the group. This is an easy project to get everyone thinking creatively.
Other crafts can use paint, clay, markers, crayons or small items found around the house. Create a stained glass window with markers on acetate or wax paper. Cut colored paper into different shapes and glue them to a sheet of cardboard to create a mosaic. Gather items such as colored leaves from outside and create a collage. These are a few ideas, but there are many craft ideas available from craft stores, in books and online.
Consider attending craft classes and demonstrations to learn more about a specific craft. An example is scrapbooking. This popular pastime can allow people of all ages to create their own scrapbook with their own individual style. There are many resources to help beginners get started. This is also a great idea to spend some fun time together as a family.
Family Night
Families often struggle with carving out time for the family to spend together, doing something fun. Some families have started having a family night once a week or once a month. During this night all electronic devices are turned off and everyone spends a couple of hours together. This is a great way to improve everyone's creativity. Here are a few ideas:
* Play a game of charades or choose a board game such as Cadoo.
* Bake some cookies and decorate them
* Build a house of cards and compete for the biggest house.
* Make up your own game or activity.
Family night is a great way to schedule some uninterrupted time as a family. The kids may not always want to participate, particularly during the teen years, but once it is important for families to connect and spend fun time together.
Celebrating National Keeping Kids Creative week once a year doesn't help kids the rest of the year. Children need constant practice to ensure their creativity and imagination gets used. There are many resources available online and in book stores with ideas for games, crafts and even creativity exercises. Try a few of these ideas and see what happens to your children's creativity.
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