Creativity For Kids
A warm welcome to the creativity for kids section of the web site.
Life can be thought of as one big creative adventure – but kids seem to have the most creative adventure. They always seem to be re-inventing themselves, playing games where they pretend to be someone or something else.
Kids love to experiment too, often they will find new ways to entertain themselves with an old toy and often by using the toy in a completely different manner to what was intended.
(Photo Credit: D’Arcy Norman)
Kids seem to have an inherent drive to explore and solve problems. This creative instinct appears to wane a little as kids get to 4th grade and beyond.
I think this is probably due to the fact that we force more competition and evaluation into children’s lives. We watch over them, pressure them, over control them and force them to follow strict schedules. All of which acts as constraints and barriers to creativity.
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Below is an excellent and humorous TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson entitled”Do schools kill creativity?”. Sir Ken suggests that we are educating people out of their creative capacity and that teaching creativity should be as important as teaching literacy.
Below is another presentation by Sir Ken titled “Changing Paradigms” but this time with an excellent video-based animation created by the RSA group to complement it. The talk centers around the theme of how do we make change happen in education and how do we make it last?
Developing Creativity
Can you further develop the creativity in creative kids? Certainly – and one of the best ways to do so is to encourage and allow children to play, follow and work with whatever they are currently showing passion for.
Below is an excellent video with a nice twist and which emphasizes the importance of encouraging children in everything that they do…
Your Creativity For Kids Ideas
Do you have any creative ideas or games that kids can play? Write about it here!
Do you have a story to share related to children’s creativity? A particular game that you play or an idea that you have to enhance creativity in kids?
If yes, then please share it with others that visit this site by writing about your story here and sharing it with the global community.
Your Creativity For Kids Idea
Creativity For Kids Ideas
Word Rhyme
Think of a word that has some other words that rhyme with it. For example “fan”. Get each player in your group to name another word that rhymes with this initial clue word. For example, “pan”, “tan”, and “can”.Get each player, in turn, to continue to name a word that rhymes with your starting word.If […]
Tower Building
The Joy of Stacking and Knocking Down Tower building is one of the simplest yet most entertaining activities for toddlers. Building towers out of blocks, cups, or any stackable objects. Toddlers simply love building towers out of building blocks or stacking cups and if they’re not able to build the tower themselves then they also […]
The Alphabet Game
The alphabet game is a popular game with many kids. It requires two or more players. Someone picks a theme such as famous celebrities or countries and then each player takes turns in naming something of that theme that begins with each letter of the alphabet.So for example, if the theme is animals the first […]
Telling The Time
Create a clock using a paper plate for the clock face and cardboard for the hands. Decorate it with bright colors and then practice telling the time with your child.See if your child can show someone at home how to tell the time to o’clock and half past.
Space
Go to your local library and read a story about space. Perhaps try Aliens in Underpants Save the World by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort. While you’re there also research moon landings and visits to space. Return home and draw a space scene. Get your child to think about the setting and the characters. Ask […]
Play-Doh Play ‘N Store Kids Play Table for Arts & Crafts Activities
The Play-Doh Play ‘N Store Kids Play Table for Arts & Crafts Activities usually retails for between $40 and $50 and is geared for children aged three years and upwards.Please note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Play-doh was first introduced in 1956 and is a non-toxic, putty-like substance that contains wheat […]
Nature Art
Go on a nature walk with your children – collecting leaves, pine cones, twigs, etc. When you return home, create some artwork using water paints and the items collected. By Liz (UK) You can purchase a highly rated water paint set from Amazon. (affiliate link) Return To Creativity For Kids
Magic Carpet
This game can be played with very young children. One and two-year-olds… Place your magic carpet (a blanket, sheet or duvet cover) on a tiled, wooden or laminate floor. Sit or lay your child on the magic carpet, then gently, carefully, and slowly pull your child around the room. Young kids love this game. Watch […]
Create Lists
Walk around your house with your child creating lists. Make a list or draw pictures of things that make light. Do another list of things that make a sound. Other list ideas include things of a particular color, large things, small things, things that Dad uses, things that Mom uses, things that begin with a […]
Guess What I Am Thinking Of
Think of something that your child is extremely familiar with e.g. a vehicle, an animal, a place, person or toy. Then give out clues so that your child can attempt to guess what you are thinking of. For example, if you live in North America you could describe a school bus by starting off with […]
Guess The Object By Feeling It
This is a game for 3+ year-olds. Find a large bag that you cannot see through, for example, a pillowcase. Next, find a number of objects that are of different sizes and textures. For example a toothbrush, a ball, a TV remote control, a feather, a pine cone, a small cuddly toy, etc. Show all […]
Guess The Category
One player thinks of a category such as things that fly. This category must not be revealed to the other children. The player then names something that fits in that category, for example a wasp, and then the other children have to try and guess what the category is. If no correct guesses are made […]
Finish The Nursery Rhyme
A great game for 2 year olds is to finish the nursery rhyme. Sing part of the song to your child and then leave the last word or two out for them to sing back to you.I sing “Three blind ….” and then my son loves shouting back to me “Mice”. Although at the moment […]
Dance To The Beat
Put some music on with some rhythm and a beat. This could be anything from a waltz to your favorite dance or pop track. Hold your child’s hands and get them to stand on your feet as you dance in time to the beat. Hold young children that are unable to stand on your feet […]
Creative Kids
In thinking about creative kids, most children have a lively creative streak, some are endowed with outstanding creative promise. But the teaching they get at school and the training they get at home tend to suppress creativeness. Yet it is a precious quality that, if developed, can make the difference between a routine life and a life of distinction and great satisfaction.
How do you spot “creativity”? Can you measure it with a test? No, not the way you can measure the ability to get good marks in school. Tests have been devised, it’s true. But they’re still experimental and tentative—and no one is sure that the qualities they do measure are the same as creativity. In fact, no one is clear on what creativity is.
(Photo Credit Flickr D’Arcy Norman)
From experiments and studies made so far, there’s a general assumption that the following characteristics probably indicate a creative youngster. She’s original, independent, flexible, open-minded, imaginative, and inquisitive.
She “plays with ideas,” doesn’t settle for obvious answers to problems. Ordinary people trust hard facts; creative types are intuitive—they look beyond facts to what might be.
Creative children often don’t seem to be paying attention in school or appear unwilling to accept what they’re told. They can get good marks but don’t always care to, usually because they’re involved in some special interest and don’t like to conform to what others demand. Tests that measure academic prowess don’t spot creative kids very well.
Can you help a child develop creativity? Yes. Pay attention to her ideas, however odd they may be. Respect her creative efforts, no matter how rough or unfinished. Help her learn to test out ideas and to be tolerant of new ideas. Don’t force her into a thinking pattern give her freedom. Help her get along with others, but don’t teach her to suppress individuality in order to conform. Stimulate her to ask difficult, even unanswerable questions teach her to value all creative activity.
What about older students? Can creativity be taught? Possibly. Experiments at the University of Buffalo indicate that students put through creativity problem-solving courses do better on creativity tests than students who don’t take the courses.
Still up in the air though, is the main question—whether what’s being taught and tested is really the mysterious quality that makes the difference between producing a good idea and producing one truly creative.