Creative play gives kids a chance to perceive an expanded universe. When kids aren't consistently stifled by strict standards, they will learn to appreciate their individual expressive potential and begin to comprehend their feelings. As a result, encouraging creative early on can foster a generation of self-assured, inspired and effective people.
Significance
According to PBS online, all kids should have the chance to express themselves in as many capacities as possible. Not only does self-expression offer kids a chance to grow mentally and emotionally, but it also offers teachers and caregivers an opportunity to learn about children as individuals. Adults who encourage kids' creativity will be enlightened enough to personalize lessons to each child's wants and needs.
Creative Questioning
According to the National Network for Child Care, teachers and other caregivers can encourage kids to think more abstractly by positing broad questions. For example, asking open-ended questions such as: "What do you think the people in this painting are doing?" or "What would happen if cats and dogs could fly?" allows kids to come to conclusions that haven't already been prescribed for them. Moreover, asking kids to use their senses in expanded ways (e.g., telling them to close their eyes and guess what they are hearing and feeling) will teach them that there is more than one way to perceive the world.
Creative Movement
Creative movement activities fully engage kids by stimulating their minds as well as their bodies. In a "follow the leader" activity, each child takes turns moving any way he wants to (jumping, scratching his foot, acting like a dog), and his peers must follow suit. Encouraging kids to build structures with mud, sand, clay and blocks inspires their creativity and encourages their gross motor development because they must engage their large muscle groups to complete the projects.
Dramatic Play
Kids play dramatic games in everyday life, whether they have an invisible friend; make an aircraft out of a refrigerator box; or pretend to be animals, postal workers or superheroes. According to the Chicago Children's Museum online, pretending allows kids to process new experiences, express their feelings, make sense of new memories, learn how to collaborate and understand a story structure. Adults can encourage dramatic play by coming up with dramatic game ideas. For example, they can pull out puppets for a puppet show and ask kids to take turns telling parts of a made-up story.
Encouraging Creativity
Teachers and caregivers should offer kids some creative suggestions from time to time but relax their controls to make room for spontaneous creativity. Moreover, supervising adults encourage kids to make their own creative decisions and inspire them create their own imaginative games by praising creativity and discovery over final results. To aid kids in using their imaginations, adults should also establish a creative environment full of art supplies, books and musical instruments.
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