Ways to foster creativity in your kids
The importance of fostering creativity in your kids should never be underestimated and encouraging a creative mind-set in their early years can lead to a whole range of vital skills later in life.
Some of these include: communication and problem-solving skills, the capacity to produce ideas, a more vivid imagination, visualization techniques, and the ability to innovate.
By engaging all of their senses, creative activities can be highly beneficial for kids whatever age they start. It’s also essential that they are able create in a space where they don’t feel afraid to make mistakes and can experiment.
So, what fun activities for kids can you introduce to foster creativity?
Creative play
Kids love to dress up and engage in roleplay. This is actually a brilliant way to foster creativity in your kids and is something that will come very naturally to them.
To help indulge this, you could create a dressing up box and fill it with old clothes, hats, scarves and materials. The kids can then dress up and take on different characters and roles. You could also encourage them to perform short plays and act out different scenarios that they have created.
These types of activities will allow your child to develop their cognitive skills, become more emotionally aware, and generate a greater understanding of the world around them.
Arts and crafts
Getting kids to create things is a great way for them to use their imagination and test how well they use resources. It’s a good idea to save old cereal boxes, plastic packaging and cardboard so that there’s always a supply of materials for your child to use.
Having other materials such as paints, coloured pens, glue and tape will also provide an environment where they can freely express themselves. Some of the benefits of arts and crafts include developing their fine motor coordination and a new sense of confidence at the end of each creation.
Music
Music is great way for kids to express themselves, especially when it comes to playing instruments and singing. Keeping in time and rhythm can also help with their counting skills and allow their brain to function in different ways.
You could invest in some piano lessons or get them to join a choir or music group. Creating music or singing in a group will teach kids how to contribute to a team and achieve results by collaboration
Dance
Fun activities for kids can take many forms, and dance is certainly a great medium for those that can’t seem to sit still! It’s a great platform for kids to use their energy while exercising their creativity and learning new skills.
Always encourage kids to experiment with movement, memorise different dance moves and choreograph their own dance sequences. This will help them to physically release any tension, stress and anxiety which will lead to healthier minds and build up their self-confidence.
Storytelling
This one stems from reading so try and encourage them to indulge in books rather than TV. Once they have found pleasure in reading you can allow them to tell their own stories, getting them to create characters, describe settings, plots and then form their very own story.
This is a great activity for getting your child to expand their mind, improve literacy and discover the possibilities that can be created through imagination and language.
Enjoying play
With this ideas of fun activities for kids, having fun with your little ones and teaching them to enjoy play will never be easier. Remember – play is important for many aspects of your child’s development and most children will learn quicker when they’re engaged in fun activities. Try our suggestions – and any of your own ideas – and see how you get on.
Interested in more great play ideas? Click here for more kids activities.
Image by jessica wilson
