Once we are adults, a sad thing happens. There is no longer much room in our lives for creativity. Due to demanding jobs and busy lifestyles, our days revolve around pleasing the boss, the tax man and everyone else!
But when you’re a kid? This is when you can and should let your creativity shine. And by helping your little ones express themselves creatively, you bring it back into your life too.
If the last time you got covered in brightly colored paints was age 9, and you haven’t danced since your teens, it's time to change that! Help your little ones express their creativity, and find yours in the process!
Painting and Drawing
Drawing is quite a precise art, and once your kids reach a certain age they might feel like they’re ‘not doing it right.’. If this frustration sets in, try switching to painting. This can get far messier! Here is a fun idea. In the summer, if you have a garden, set up a big white canvas outdoors. Fill balloons with different colored paints and pin them to the board. Then fit yourself and your kids with clothing you can get messy. Now it’s time for the fun. Pop the balloons! You can use plastic darts or your hands! In the end, you will have a beautiful, colorful and fun canvas that you and your kids have all made together! Hang it in pride of place in your kitchen and hallway where everyone can see it!
Also, how about mixing in some drawing and painting with crafting? You can take inspiration from all around the world for crafting! Make a Native American Dream Catcher, for example.
Dancing
If you have a little one who wants to do ballet dancing classes, great. Ballet is great for improving health and fitness. It can also help with things like posture. But kids don't have to take it so seriously! Dancing can be just as healthy for our bodies when done in the kitchen, listening to the radio. It is also a great way to work off excess energy if you have hyper kids. You’ll be watching them fall asleep no problem at all that night. Join in and you won’t even need that expensive gym membership anymore!
Singing
Singing shouldn’t be about having an amazing voice. It should be about having fun. As with dancing, if they’d like to have lessons, and you can afford them, great! You may also find that their school provide them free of charge. But if they don’t want to take it so seriously, just sing with them wherever you are. The car, the bath, the kitchen- anywhere!
Acting
If there is one thing that many confident adults put their confidence down to, it is acting lessons when they are younger. Drama classes are a fantastic way to get your kids out of their shell. They will be challenged in lots of different ways. To be heard on stage, they will learn how to project. Or ‘talk louder’ in normal people language! They will also learn how to work with other people, as they will be acting as a cast more often than not. If they develop the confidence to be on stage in front of lots of strangers, they can transfer this to other areas of their life. It may well help them with speaking in front of the class, for example! Also, encourage them to show their work to the rest of the family. If they have to learn a monologue, have an evening where everybody gathers around for a ‘preview performance!’. Your support and encouragement will go a long way.
Creative Writing
Often, kids who aren’t so academic can be really scared of creative writing. But it is so important to express that the most important thing about this isn’t their spelling or punctuation. It is about ideas! It is about creativity! It is about being able to take the story in whatever direction they fancy! If they are struggling with where to start, find descriptive writing ideas online. Or give them something totally random, like ‘A giraffe named Fred met his best friend Alan, who was a chipmunk, on the moon. They wanted to talk about how they would fly back to earth….’ Another idea is to use the ending of their favorite storybook. Let them decide what they think happened to their favorite characters next, and carry on the story.
Once they develop in confidence, then you can start helping them improve their grammar and other technicalities.
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