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By the time my oldest child was five, I realised he just wasn’t as ‘creative’ as my four year old. He’d sit and color in for a minute, get bored and leave. It was the same with painting and drawing. I realised that there are so many other ways for a child to be creative, apart from the usual ways. So I looked for other ways for him to get ‘creative’. We tend to limit ‘creativity’ to the usual painting, drawing and coloring, but there are so many ways to get a child to express their creativity, apart from these three typical ways.
Here are a few other ideas to inspire creativity in your child:
INSPIRING CREATIVITY IN YOUR CHILD
1. STAMPING
There are a huge variety of stamps available in almost every art store. Take your child along and see if any themed stamps grab their attention! These could be used to decorate school books, love notes, scrapbooks or birthday cards. (we love these Melissa & Doug ones!)
2. FINGER PAINTING
Finger painting is awesome messy play for kids. Try finger painting something besides the usual – glass, wooden planes or mirror frames. (Homemade finger paint recipe)
3. CANVAS PARTIES
We went to a party recently where each child got their own canvas to paint. Strips of tape were randomly taped across the canvas at different angles, and then painted over. Once dry, the tape was pulled off and the effect was awesome! A colorful canvas with clean white lines – very effective! Kids also enjoy painting with other kids in an open yard. There’s something fun about messy painting with other kids!
4. TOOTHPICKS, MARSHMALLOWS & JELLY TOTS
Building random structures with these three is super fun for kids. It’s amazing how creative they can get when they compete against time, and one another, to build the tallest tower, or strongest bridge.
5. SIDEWALK CHALK/PAINT
Sometimes the problem with ‘creative’ things is the fact that you have to SIT to do it. Sidewalk chalk/paint allows your child to get active and still be creative in a super fun way!
6. PAINT MODEL PLANES
A child who gets bored easily may find painting something they are interested in, an entirely different experience! Pick a theme they like – model cars, planes, teacups, etc and see if he/she enjoys painting those items instead of a picture in a book.
7. GARDEN FURNITURE
There is so much you can make and do in the garden with old tyres and some paint.
8. MAKE UP STORIES & PLAYS
A child who isn’t interested in paints or color, may be mad about words… so try getting your child to come up with his/her own story, or write and direct a play with siblings and friends. There are many sides to creativity, and not all involve color.
9. DECORATING CUPCAKES
There are countless ways to decorate cupcakes! Take your child to a local baking shop and let him/her pick out icing colors & decorations they’d like to use, and then have a fun afternoon being creative in the kitchen.
10. MOSAIC
You can make some incredibly beautiful designs with mosaic. There are hundreds of different colors, shapes and sizes of mosaic tiles to choose from. Take your child shopping at your nearest art supply store and see what grabs them as they browse and shop!
11. LIFE SIZE STENCILS & FLOUR
This activity is great for Summer – help your child draw and cut huge stencils out of large rolls of paper, and fill in the stencil with flour, in the yard or on a pavement. A large lawn can become a huge canvas for a picture!
There are many more ways to get your child expressing and experiencing creativity! Take a drive to your local art shop, browse Pinterest and make plans with other moms… enjoy getting creative with your child!
Emma @ P is for Preschooler says
My daughter would love that flour stencil idea! She also taught me that there are a lot of ways to be “creative” beyond just art on paper! 🙂
Heidi de Jesus Ferreira says
Awesome! It is a lot of fun, enjoy 😉 x