Creativity is often described as the action you take after imagination. In other words, it’s not imagination alone but how you put your imagination into action. The combination of imagination, creativity and problem solving becomes innovation, which is why encouraging creativity is essential to supporting our young learners.
We can nurture creativity and innovation in our children by allowing them to try new things, providing a lot of time for free play and creating an enriching learning environment at home.
- Provide a variety of toys. Toys that are changed often will provide your child with cognitive stimulation and promote curiosity and exploration. The toys don’t need to be fancy. In fact, toys that require imagination, like cardboard boxes and old clothes for dress-up, are often the most stimulating!
- Offer lots of books. Access to books is also important, and the public library can help keep the selection varied.
- Discover how things work. Take apart old equipment, such as a toaster or computer. Before you throw things away, think about how they can be recycled for play. Children will be fascinated by all of the parts.
- Explore your community. Trips to the zoo, different local parks, museums and even grocery stores add valuable variety to your child’s experience.
- Encourage lots of play. Let your child have lots of free time to play, especially outside!
Enriching your home in this way will help your child to develop creativity skills and tap into his or her innovative spirit.
