#Collaborative post
The majority of the time, people actually believe that creativity is something that you are born with and not something that can be picked up over time. However, this is far from the truth as with a bit of encouragement and placement in the right environment, children can develop their creative skills faster than you think. Creativity can be approached in many ways. From painting, drawing, reading, writing, dancing, acting to even imaginative play, children can pick what they find interesting and explore creativity through it. Some of the benefits that come from children exploring their creativity is better performance in school and a stronger ability to function. With that said, here is a guide on how to nurture your child’s creativity, as advised by this independent prep school.
Provide a creativity space in the home
One of the first steps to nurturing creativity in your child is by making sure your child feels comfortable to express themselves freely at home. Allow them the freedom to think of their own games and play without the restriction of set rules or judgement. It is also important to encourage your child to use this creative environment to their advantage where they can explore new ideas. Whilst many creative activities such as dancing, singing and drama don’t always require a set of tools, it is still important to provide your child with creative resources. Having a set of pens, pencils, paints and crafts on hand will allow your child to take up a creative activity whenever their heart desires. This doesn’t have to be expensive as old cardboard boxes and scrap paper can be added to the creative collection. Simple activities such as giving your child a set of felt tips and a big cardboard box is one of the easiest ways to get their creativity going.
Have unstructured play time
It cannot be stressed enough how important play is for young children. However, one thing that isn’t always reinforced is unstructured play. It is actually advised that children take part in twice as much unstructured play as they do structured play. This is because structured play can be quite limiting to children given that there is an expectation or a time limit. By allowing your child to spend a couple hours alone to decide what they would like to play, will encourage them to develop a creative mindset. With the lack of expectations or time restrictions, children will have the time to practice creativity in a more relaxed way.