I finished a few chores this morning, then moseyed into the kitchen to find this lovely sight:
Coincidentally, right before I walked in on the kids and their spontaneous paint session, I listened to an inspiring talk given by Sir Ken Robinson (a speaker & educator) in which he said,
“Creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Wow. That requires some rethinking, doesn’t it? But after the past few years of mulling over what education means to me, I agree with him. It’s good to keep sagging bookshelves around, but it’s equally good to leave out paints, paper, scissors and gluesticks for the children to use freely.
Mr. Robinson (Sir Ken, is it?) says, “We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it…or rather, we are educated out of it. Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not. Because the thing they were good at in school wasn’t valued.”
Our little gal (5) noticed me taking photos and without looking up from her paints, said, “I’m going to be an artist.”
That door, I hope, will always look as open to her as the doors to mathmetician and aeronautical engineer as a result of a full education: one in which creativity is as important as literacy.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts on creativity and its importance to the children in your life. How do you encourage creativity?
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is watching my boys immerse themselves in their interests and having the time to explore them. I encourage their creativity by giving them the room and time they need to “play,” and by giving them access to different materials. You’re right–it is important to let them create when the mood strikes them and not squelch their enthusaism. Great post!
Sir Ken is amazing and he’s so right. In a world where public schools seem to be “teaching to the test” more and more, I think it’s incredibly important for us to foster that sense of creative wonderment that young children understand so well.
My challenge now is to think creatively about creativity. I think for so long we have all viewed creativity as only something to do with the arts – visual and performing. While I encourage my would be artist daughter and actress daughter, I also have to remind myself that my engineering-and-systems-type son is also thinking creatively right now. It doesn’t usually come out in songs or paintings, but his “problem solving” with legos or love for science experiments is also a form of outside-of-the-box creative thinking.
So, now while the crayons and paints are always out, I’m also on the hunt for other creative ideas for how to stimulate and encourage all kinds of creativity in my three kiddos. Which means I’m having to think creatively myself. And because of that, we will all be better.
Great post! I think I’m blessed with two incredibly creative kids…one is creative aristically, so she naturally gravitates towards tape, glue, paint, and scissors to use on paper, pipe cleaners, bottle caps, string, and empty kleenex boxes. She’s made a trampoline for her barbie out of construction paper, stilts out of capri-sun boxes, and necklaces out of bottle caps.
My son is more creative with things like rope and wood. Once, he created a spider web all over our front porch with 100 foot of rope! My piano students and their parents enjoyed climbing through it! 🙂
I have always tried to stock up on things like tape, glue, paint, etc. But I also tried to spend a few dollars on “scrap” pieces of wood…you can find short lengths (under 2 feet) at Menards, but possibly at Lowe’s or other building supply stores.
We have a “treasure box” for school. My kids earn stickers for good attitudes and good attention and other things they struggle with. After 25 tickets, they get to choose something from the prize box. I’ve included some old crafting supplies (stencils, beads, etc.) donated by a scrapbooking friend. We have other cool surprises in their too…coupons for later bedtimes, cool snacks, neat pens, and other fun finds.
I knew I had a creative genius on my hands when my then 4 yr old begged for dollar store coloring books. When we got them home, did he color in them? Of course not. He cut out the pictures and acted out stories with the characters…or he’d cut up the pictures and put various parts back together (ie a pair of legs from this one, a head from that one…) Now at almost 11 yrs old, he is looking forward to writing his second “novel” thru the NaNoWriMo program.
He’s always had access to great books and a great variety of art supplies, as well as the recycle bin. It’s amazing what a tin can and a couple of boxes can become! We also have a variety of music and instruments on hand for his use. The boy also has a room FULL of Legos.
We love creativity around here (if only we had room for it all)!
Thank you, Anne! Your exploring boys are probably so much fun, and will grow to be interesting young men.
Thank you for this bit of wisdom to mull over this coming week, Kay: "
My challenge now is to think creatively about creativity."
Melinda, you sound like a lot of fun can be found in your house! The spider web? Genius!
Great idea for using coloring books, Cassie! He sounds like a smartie. I love that you're letting him write so much. Who knows, he might be another best-selling teenager author (like Eragon's author -a homechooling teen!).
I have 5 year old twins and they are always busy being creative. We have play dough, silly putty, crayons, paper, and most craft items on hand and within reach of them. My kids take the coloring books and turn them into books. They like to color the pages and then cut them out of the coloring book. They put the pages in an order that they think the book should be and then they staple it together. I LOVE that when we are outdoors they are picking up acorns and leaves with a craft project in mind. They are always thinking of what they can make 🙂
I have a whole room designated as the craft room. I have containers to recycle, scissors, paint, paper, glue, stickers….Yes, there are some marks on my walls. Yes, I have had to giv my kids an impromptu bath on more than one occasion. But I love the interesting things they make with no prodding. Creativity is alive and well in this house!
A mother who isn't afraid of a mess is a fun mother!
Aw, your twins sound beautiful, Sue! And to have a pair of little creatives — that's double the fun!
Love this post. I think children who are home schooled are sooooooo blessed! 🙂
One way I encourage creativity is to have lot’s of art supply around the house and within reach. I even have a drawing table in the study room, play room and the living room! My son loves to draw and he does spontaneous drawing. He likes to tell us stories thru his drawing. Thru his drawing we can wander into his little world and he is always happy to see his art work being publish in his blog and being appreciated by friends and strangers. 🙂
Keep up the good work mummy!
Florence I love your idea of publishing his work on his blog! I should do that for our 8yo, so faraway grandparents can see. And a drawing table in the study room? Such a great idea, too!