Thinking Outside the Crayon Box: Activities to Foster Creativity
|
|
“Think outside the box.” Now there’s a phrase so worn, it has almost
become meaningless. You definitely do want your kids to think outside
the box- to stretch their imaginations and sharpen their minds. But how
can you foster creative development outside the box of crayons? And how
can you do it within your budget requirements? |
|
|
|
Well, mom and dad, you’re just going to have to dust off your own rusty
imaginations to help your children get a head start on theirs. Jot down
anything that comes to mind in a safe place to have handy when the kids
come to you, bored. “Mom, there’s nothing to do.” There are a thousand
things to do, really, but when you’re trying to come up with something
on the spur of the moment, you’ll likely draw a big blank. That’s when
you’ll be glad you’ve kept this list, and made one of your own |
|
|
|
-Ideas are everywhere. Practise flexing your own mental muscle by
scoping out the whole world around you for ideas that can help your
kids expand themselves. Here are a few to get you started. |
|
|
|
-Next time you’re planning family pizza and movie night, opt for music
and pizza night instead. Have every family member play two or three
favourite songs and share what they like about it. This gives Dad a
chance to explain how jazz works, and maybe share an interesting
anecdote or two about the interesting musicians who play it. Aunt Anne
can talk about the kinds of musical instruments needed to create
classical music; Junior can do an impromptu hip-hop sequence and defend
the noise he plays in his room when you’re trying to sleep. Who knows?
You may find yourself opening to new music, too. |
|
|
|
-Remember bread crafts? There’s nothing better for tots to get those
tubby hands working than pounding and pushing through some bread dough.
It’s easy to make- just throw two cups flour, one cup salt, and two
thirds cup water together, and voila- let the little hands get to work.
What to make? Window ornaments, a barnyard animal set, funky coat
buttons, flower brooches- the possibilities are limitless. You can
colour the raw dough with food colouring, or paint it after with
acrylics. There are dozens of books at your library on crafts, recipes,
cooking, decorating these wonder projects- which are practically free
and totally nontoxic. |
|
|
|
-Make your own Christmas decorations. Teach the kids that you don’t
always need to buy new things. Set an example by refusing to buy any
new packaging- wrap can be made out of old magazines, newspapers,
recycled gift paper, paints, and crayons. Ditto for cards. |
|
|
|
-Have a cookie bake with some neighbour kids. |
|
|
|
-Collage is always super fun. Use old magazines, books, and greeting
cards. If it’s hard for the kids to get started- sometimes “anything
you like” is too vast a topic- give them a specific theme. The theme
can be fun: “a circus,” “Dad’s birthday,” “cats.” Or it can be
something to help your child process a difficult emotion. If he’s blue
because Granny died, making a collage about her can help. Angry at mean
kids? An angry theme can help her sort it all out- and teaches her to
channel negative emotions and deal with them. |
|
|
|
-Next time you’re too tired to cook, forget the same old restaurant
favourites and make the splurge an adventure for the whole family. Show
your kids that you aren’t too old or set in your ways to expand your
horizons- setting an example by being open yourself to new experiences
is the easiest way to teach your kids flexibility. Head to a restaurant
you might never have chosen; pick a culture you aren’t remotely
familiar with and have no idea what kind of menu it will be. Ask
questions. Later, look up the region or country- show your kids where
it is on the map and learn something about the place. Don’t traumatize
your kids by making global cuisine feel like the worst of school,
however- and don’t force them to eat stuff they are scared of. This is
a good rule: we all need to, Mom and Dad included, eat some of
everything on our plate, but we don’t have to finish anything if we
don’t like it or if we are full. |
|
|
|
-Go to a different church from time to time. Talk openly about the
differences you like and don’t like. Ask your kids how they felt, too,
and why. Bringing up the big questions yourself saves being put on the
spot later. Exploring what your neighbours believe by attending their
faith traditions with them builds a strong community. |
|
|
|
-Don’t forget to get involved with the local library. There are events
and promotions going on all the time. They could be as small as a
change in the artwork in the front hall- still worth checking out and
learning about the artist- or as big as a major lecture or book swap.
It’s amazing how most people still don’t know how much goes on at their
library. It’s also amazing how many people still rent DVDs when you can
save a fortune- some don’t know that the library has movies. It also
has CDs of every conceivable kind of music from Bach to Kanye West. |
|
|
|
Just look around and practice keeping your eyes open, and soon you’ll
have more ideas than you can ever actually use. Your whole family will
enjoy doing new things together for pennies or for free- the family
time is just as important as the activity itself. And for those rainy
days- it doesn’t hurt to have a big box of crayons around. There are
some things that kids turn to time and time again for good reason, and
besides, it’s time to change the crayon drawings on the fridge, isn’t
it? |
