The art of creativity is vital in the development of children. Yes it is fun for children, but it also helps them to develop a variety of ideas and concepts about the world around them. The act of creativity helps all children communicate their inner thoughts and feelings by expressing these thoughts and emotions in visual and auditory ways.

Creativity can be engaged in a variety of ways. Children love to sing, create, move, and think is new and inventive ways and it is our job as parents and educators to help encourage the many expressions of creativity.

Benefits of Creativity Development

Creativity encourages a child to express him or herself and to understand the freedom involved in committing to a project they are in the process of creating. Creativity development provides a child a sense of ownership in their creation and fosters mental growth by encouraging the child to try new things, new ideas, new ways of thinking, and problem solving. As a child creates, it gives us the opportunity to celebrate the child's uniqueness and sense of self.

Way to Encourage Creativity

It is not hard at all to encourage creativity in our children. With a little planning, thought, and a fun spirit, you can help blossom your child's creativity and help them enter a world of unique expression and FUN!

Encourage Creativity Tip #1: Schedule it!

Set aside time each and every day for some sort of creative expression for your child. Let's face it: life is busy with children and unless we make a conscience effort to do something, it may never get done! Put together a schedule where you can see it everyday and make sure your child is engaging in a creative activity each day.

Encourage Creativity Tip #2: Plan it!

Really work on providing one scheduled creative activity each day. There are hundreds of books out there that provide ideas for art projects and other creative activities for children that you can pull from. I have a book that provides all sorts of ideas for toys to make from items found around the home. Each night, I look forward to curling up with this little book and choosing a fun activity my children and I will enjoy together the next day.

Encourage Creativity Tip #3: Need some ideas?

First, take into consideration your child; their age, attention span, likes, dislikes, personality, etc. Tailor your scheduled activities around your child interests and you can't go wrong! Some ideas my children enjoy are: playing dress-up, Playdoh, building blocks, coloring, pudding painting, finger paints, dancing to fun music, creating music with household items.

Encourage Creativity Tip #4: Join in!

It is rather easy and FUN to encourage creativity in children. What is fun as adults is to relax our own mind and enter the world of our child and see how their mind creates and perceives the world around them. It's not hard to get your child excited about a variety of activities, especially when you've channeled your silly side and joined in on the fun!