10 Tips For Cultivating Creativity In Your Kids
Best School in HSR Layout | MS Dhoni Global School Bangalore
Well, turns out one cannot teach creativity to another. Instead, to cultivate creativity in children, it is important to create an environment that encourages creativity to show up, grow and flourish.
Contrary to popular belief, it is a misconception that creative learning in children can develop from leaving them alone to figure out things. That’s certainly not how it works. While it is important to give children the space to figure out things by themselves, it is also important to create a process and guide them through it. In other words, it is necessary to create an environment that facilitates creative learning but also allows children to walk on the path of creative learning all by themselves.
Even though children are naturally curious in nature, their inquisitiveness needs to be fed in a way that nourishes creativity and helps it grow. Children need the much required support for creative learning. However, it is true that supporting children is no easy day’s work. Parents and educators need to know how to devise and structure the learning curve for them. They must know when to step in, how much freedom to give, when to step back, what to ask, what to tell, when to answer, when to question, when to listen and maintain an overall balance of connection and space with children.
The ultimate aim should be how to create an environment for children that facilitates natural creative learning and not how to teach them creativity or leave them alone to learn it all by themselves.
Here are 10 tips for cultivating creativity in children. The following ten tips are assorted on the basis of five primary categories that form the predominant components of creative and creative learning as a whole.
Imagination
- Help spark ideas through examples
Having no clue of what to do and what not to do can be intimidating. Showing them similar examples as to what they need to do can benefit them. And as their nature suggests, children would readily try to copy you or simply try to mimic you. However, make sure you leave enough room for their innovative ideas. - Encourage trial and error
Contrary to common beliefs, innovation doesn’t always take place in the mind. Especially for children, experimenting with multiple things spurs innovation and creativity. LEGO bricks are pretty great for this purpose.
Creation
- Offer different types materials
The several toys, tools and materials that children play with or come across everyday, influence them significantly. For supporting creative learning in children, ensure that they have access to diverse materials for drawing, building and crafting. - Be accepting towards their creations
Not all children are fond of clays and LEGO bricks. Neither are all fond of cars and toys alike. Thus be appreciative of your child’s creations. They would certainly do great in their areas of interest much more than what they’re forced to do or do unwillingly.
Playing
Prioritize the process and not the outcome
The best learning experiences come up when people actively engage in doing things; however, that does not conclude that one should put all their attention on the things that are made. The process is way more important and enriching than the final goal.Do not restrict children to less timespans
With numerous distractions on their plate, it takes time for children to build creative projects. This is because they’re constantly exploring new ideas and experimenting with them. It is not right to expect them to grasp the concepts and innovate with creativity within a 40-45 minutes class.
Share
Play the matchmaker
Oftentimes, children want to share their ideas and partner on projects. However, they don’t really know how. You can act as a matchmaker, helping children find their right partners to work with.Be a partner sometimes
Parents and teachers often stop children midway when they are trying something new and failing. On the other hand, there are parents who don’t even want to be involved in their kid’s life. It is necessary to find the right balance to facilitate a creative environment for children.
Reflection
Question sensibly
When children are enthusiastic about any upcoming event or they are interested in something, question them wisely. They would probably listen and view the related info in their minds. This will help improve their ability to understand their own actions.Share your reflections
Oftentimes, parents and teachers are reluctant to share about their own thinking processes with children. It can be that they don’t want to expose their confusion or lack of security in the child’s thinking. You can really benefit a kid by talking with them about your own thinking process.
At MS Dhoni Global School, we incorporate maximum measures to ensure that we provide an environment to our students that facilitate creativity.