by Melody Mcfall

Created on: March 15, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

Fostering Creativity takes well creativity and a smidge of time.

How often do we parents get so entangled in the day to day events of our sometimes redundant daily routines that scheduling 'creativity time' seems more like a burden than a blessing?

My husband and I are both full time working parents and my children ages 7 and 6 are fulltime - children! They love to interact and love to play, but, sometimes getting them to be creative can be a challenge all by itself. It would seem that with the hundreds of toys they have to play with they would have endless things to do; however, sometimes they prefer to simply watch TV or play the few video games we have around the house.

So, how do we go about breaking up this ever fighting habit of TV and video games? We simply stop. We stop what is consuming us for the moment and take a look around at the same things we look at every day, differently. Do you remember what is was like when you were a kid when Mom and Dad bought something big and there was this huge cardboard box that adults called garbage? When you were 7, what did you call that cardboard box, garbage? Or was it a race car, a motorcycle, or an RV! Well, in our house, whenever a new cardboard box enters the home, it is saved for the kids. I simply give the kid scissors and they know where all of the crayons and markers are already and that is it! We have had cardboard trains toot there way through the living room. We have had cars with detachable steering wheels race through the hallways. And, let's not forget the cardboard school buses that stop occassionally to pick up the babies waiting along the carpet road outlined with masking tape. Believe you me, if you open that creativity box with your children, they will soon take over and foster in the activity for hours. It is just amazing what they come up. We have found that when we let them create whatever they want in thier cardboard world without any suggestion, they come up with the most brilliant ideas! Not only did we have air driven automobiles, but we soon found that the kids had made signs out of scrap paper and posty notes, like, 4-way Stop, No Parking, Exit, Speed Limits, etc. It is endless and exciting to see what they come up with. It is hilarious to find days later, signs that were missed being removed. I found one just the other day that said, "Mom's parking".

Another idea to get kids going is to set up a camp. Now, i'm not talking about the tent and pole concept, i'm talking about the card table and chairs draped with a sheet. Again, if you take the first step in coming up with a concept, the children will spark with excitement and take over the original idea. Sometimes the idea sticks, other times, they come up with something completely different, yet creative.

Legos and fake food are great ideas as well. Having them create things out of legos or draw up menus for their restaurants are other excellent thought provoking ideas, not to mention the food menus emphasize the use of letters and words.

My children are also huge fans of the reality show 'American Idol'. Sometimes they can foster their own creativity based on their own want and need for a fake microphone and stage to sing a song to the world. I have found music is a love of most children and simply turning on the radio or making them their own cd is enough to get their creativity flowing.

So, how do we foster creativity in our children? Take the first step and open up the possibilities to them. They will take it from there.

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