Tuesday, October 16, 2012

children and creativity

I've had many people comment on my creativity and in all honesty, I've never really understood it. I grew up envying the creativity of my brother who seemed always to be able to think outside the box. I got married to someone who's able to do the same. I've come across relatives, friends and bloggers who can create dishes, stories, homes, relationships in innovative ways. Is creativity something that we're born with or something that we learn? Is it something that we get used to?



I had a little issue last year where I'd lost my mojo. How did I get it back? I created something. Anything. And yes, it came back. I think we can all be creative. We just need to get in to the habit of it. Perhaps certain personalities find it easier though, than others. One of my offspring is very laid back and continuously creates and along the way, explores and discovers. I have another who craves order and organisation and finds it a little trickier to think differently. I was watching another TED talk by Tim Brown and in it, he talks about how we fear the judgement of our peers, which makes us a little conservative with our ideas. Children on the other hand play with and question everything. This type of playfulness helps us create. And unfortunately, while children at pre-school level play a lot, as children make there way through school, they lose this. As I homeschool my children now, I'm trying to keep their creativity flowing. I'm trying not to give them a strict timetable. I'm trying to encourage them to love learning, discovering, creating new ways of doing things, and that there need not be a level of rigidity in how we do things. They make and edit videos of their assignments or produce powerpoint presentations. One of mine seems ready for some basic programming and design software. We can try things out and if they don't work we can try something else, until we find what's best for us. I want to help set them up for life in sha Allah. To be able to take it all on. To think outside of the box for solutions. It's not an easy task. 

Do you think it is important to encourage creativity in children? How do you/would you go about instilling it in them?


Interesting reads:

Ten Suggestions for Raising Creative Kids | The Creativity Post
20 Tips for Encouraging Your Child's Artistic Expression
If You Come Out of School Thinking You Are Not Creative, School Failed

* This post is a part of my attempt at Blogtoberfest 2012!

4 comments:

Heather October 16, 2012 at 9:16 PM  

Yes, it is very important! I don't have children, but I have a lot of creative hobbies thanks to my parents who always encouraged me, taught me, etc. I feel sorry for my friends who do not have a creative outlet. I find that after a stressful day at the office, playing with something such as pretty embroidery floss can change my entire mood. I also feel that having a creative side that was nurtured helps me in other aspects of life and helps me to problem solve in untraditional, but effective, ways.

IKHWANI October 17, 2012 at 3:32 AM  

I agree with you and Heather. I learned to crochet when I was 10 or 11. Thanks to my mom who always encourage me to things creatively. she never looked down at things that I've produced. She let me used her sewing machine when I was a teenager. Like Heather pointed out, it helps us to destress too. Now, I try to encourage my children to do what they like - drawings, origami, painting, etc etc...and I am also thankful coz my other half has the same thinking as mine.

ireminisces October 17, 2012 at 8:55 PM  

Thank you for sharing a wonderful post. I have a special message for you posted today, hope you like.

Take Care.

Kathryn October 18, 2012 at 9:52 PM  

Great post. Absolutely imperative to encourage children's creativity.

I don't usually leave links in my blog comments since it usually just looks spammy but I think your readers might actually like an article I did for HubPages awhile back called 20 Tips for Encouraging Your Child's Artistic Expression ...

http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/20-Tips-for-Encouraging-Your-Childs-Artistic-Expression

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