Creativity in children is often misunderstood. It is not about whether they are born creative or not, it’s about developing new skills and boosting their creative thinking abilities. If you want to help your child in this matter, make sure you provide them all the tools they need to think creatively and encourage them to try new activities. Here are a few new hobbies you can enjoy with your kids to help boost their creative side.
Jewelry Making
Jewelry making is a great way for you to help your kids boost their creativity while also improving their motor skills. Small pieces, like a pretty pair of pearl earrings or a simple beaded bracelet, would make for appropriate projects you can do with your kids, with plenty of room for them to get creative with their ideas. This doesn’t mean that you have to purchase extravagant Tahitian pearls for your activities. All you have to do is stock up on different types of beads and accessories which you can purchase at any craft store.
Crafting Toys
What can be more fun for kids than making their own toys? Allow your children to get as creative as they want and make their toys exactly how they imagine them. You can use Play Doh or upcycle things from around your house and let them enjoy the process. You could also help your kids make their own Christmas presents for their friends. Bonus: no extra Christmas shopping this year for endless lists of friends. Besides being a great way to boos creativity, crafting toys for their friends will help show your kids the joys of gift giving. Moreover, focusing on creating each piece will help improve your child’s hand-eye coordination.
Storytelling
Children have the capacity to dream and imagine things, so introducing them to creative writing could be your next step. As most kids like stories and enjoy it when you are reading to them, why not take it a step further and write your own story together? Allow them to explore the world with their imagination and tell the story however they see it. Besides being ideal for promoting creativity, it’s a fun hobby which you can do with the whole family.
Cooking and Baking
Besides jewelry making and toy crafting, decorating cookies and making delicious pizzas are great ways to encourage creativity, while helping your kids learn a new and valuable skill. Allow your little ones to have fun and explore their creative side by letting them choose toppings and combine different and unique flavors. Although cooking and baking with kids is very beneficial for their creativity, it can also help improve their reading skills (by letting them read the recipes), teach them basic math concepts and is also a great opportunity to introduce your kids to scientific concepts, such as temperature.
Watching Art Videos
Watching art videos with your kids after a long day at school is a great way to help boost their creativity, without too much effort. If you want to spark your kids’ interest in art, try watching videos about different artists and how they create their pieces. You can also watch videos with instructions and try to recreate art pieces together. Although they are not your typical educational videos, these captivating and engaging visuals make for some of the best learning materials for kids.
Playing Music
Playing music with your kids is another great way you can help them explore and boost their creativity. Moreover, exposing them to music at a very young age helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words much faster. If they show an interest in a particular instrument, you can sign them up for introductory classes and allow them to express themselves through sound. They could even perform at the next Christmas party you organize. As they get older, they will have plenty of opportunities to get involved with music, as some schools offer music classes or music clubs for kids to join.
Playing Creativity Games
We all know that too much screen time isn’t good for kids. Watching TV all day is definitely not productive or beneficial for kids. However, there are plenty of apps and games out there designed to stimulate little minds and boost their creativity. If used in moderation, technology can be of great help in developing your child’s creative thinking skills. Choose a few games designed to put your kids’ brains at work and encourage them to play these types of games in favor of others which are not as challenging.
