cultivating creativity in children :: tips and tricks

This past weekend I was able to attend the Type A conference in Atlanta. One of the speakers was Gary Jerry from Disney. He shared some really interesting statistics about creativity and how quickly we lose curiosity and creativity as we grow up. After his presentation I was talking with a few friends and someone commented on how creative my children seem to be and she asked if there was anything we did to foster that. I wasn’t really sure how to answer her, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it since. Here are a few of the things that that we do in our home to cultivate creativity.

1. Give children the tools they need – literally. It’s fairly easy for most people to have paper and crayons available for their kids. Maybe even scissors, if you’re not afraid that they’ll practice their hair cutting skills. But what about encouraging them to dig through the recycling to find that perfect piece of trash to turn into their treasure? Glue it. Paint it. Draw on it or with it. Color it. Dance with it. The picture you see at the top of this post are the most recent examples of trash-to-treasure for my older two. Toilet paper rolls, paper, and tape became a mummy and a star gazer.
2. Give children the tools they need – figuratively. Read about creative people. Read books about adventures or fantasy books that stretch the imagination. Talk about creative people and creative ideas. Day dream with your child (which leads me to another point).
3. Don’t adult-down their ideas. When they come up with the greatest scheme ever that will never, ever work no matter how hard they try, don’t tell them that. Let them try it for themselves. Let them come to the realization that it just isn’t going to work and then be there to help them when they need it. Teach them that sometimes things don’t work out like we plan. Teach them that sometimes we fail. Teach them to fail whole-heartedly and then teach them to try again. Or not. Sometimes it’s okay to walk away from a plan or idea that’s just not working. But let their imagination run wild and don’t stiffle it with adult-sized logic.
4. Don’t always have the answers. I know I just said to help them when they need it buuuut sometimes it’s okay to not. Listen to them. Be a sounding board for what hasn’t worked and see if they can work through the process on their own. Nine times out of ten my kids come up with a solution that I never would have thought of and often it works out beautifully.
5. Just give them time. Give them time to create with you and without you. Plan crafts that you can do together or just have open creativity time. Let them drive the boat. Allow them tell you what to do or how to do a certain craft. My kids really love when we do this!
   On the other side of that, give them time to be creative all by themselves. Kids are naturally creative and giving them time to free play alone allows them to really stretch their imagination. I’ve noticed that even my two year old is more verbal and creative in her play when she thinks I’m not listening. There’s a special kind of freedom that everyone feels when you’re all by yourself. Ever found yourself singing into your microphone hairbrush or dancing around the house with a broom? No? Just me? Well, I can bet that for most people there’s something that you do when you’re all alone that you’d be mortified for others to see.
6. Show pride in their creative side. My children are all creative, but in very different ways. So showcase what makes them special. Share it with others. Help them build confidence in their creativity by letting them hear you tell others about their creativity or show others what they’ve created. Create an art gallery on one of your walls. Make note cards from their paintings. And sometimes it’s a simple as letting them dress themselves and telling them how nice they look. Sometimes that means wearing costumes to the grocery store or donning a plaid shirt with striped shorts to preschool. Just roll with it.
7. Let them see you be creative. I’m a crafty girl, so it’s not unusual for my kids to see my covered in paint and mod podge or scribbling furiously in my journal. But my husband is much more reserved and scientific. Even he (who thinks he’s not very creative) can play bass guitar like a boss. They love to watch him when he plays. I really believe that teaching by doing is one of the most effective methods of learning.

What other tips do you have for helping kids be creative or – more accurately – stay creative?