Creativity

Inventions We'd Rather Not See Required: Your time only The world of science and engineering brings us all kinds of great and useless things. But what about the truly useless or silly things that haven't been invented yet? Here are some ideas to...

Finding Your Inner Genius: The 10 Steps to Creativity I happen to know you're a genius. It's true. It's always been true. You just forgot. We all have some kind of genius, but for many of us, life experiences, whether at home, in school, or in t...

Expression Versus CatharsisWe want children to express themselves, but we don't want them to react and confuse creation with catharsis. Catharsis is not creation; it is only a release of pressure. When children paint in a cathartic way, they pain...

Guidelines for Optimum CreativityEleven Golden Rules Always approach creativity as a process-oriented activity. Never ask children to paint realistically. Never tell children what to paint, or give them models to copy. Never correct children's pa...

Giving Children Feedback on their ArtworkIt is a fact that parents, teachers, and counselors try to support children's creativity, but often they do not know how. Through casual feedback or well-intentioned but ill-advised statements, they may in...

The Joy of Spontaneous ExpressionChildren need to stop worrying about what they do. The pressure of doing it right can take over and prevent them from being creative. Parents and teachers should support children in finding their own way naturally...

Intrusions to CreativityTo create a magical context that fosters spontaneous inspiration and self-expression, parents and teachers need to become aware of possible intrusions into children's joyful processes. Commenting on children's paintings is...

How the Creative Process WorksIf we want children to use painting as a tool for self-expression and self-discovery, we don't need to teach them technique. On the contrary: we need to unteach it. The less technique children have, the more they use...

Creativity Belongs to ChildrenWhen very young children start playing, with toys or with crayons, they listen to and trust themselves. They eagerly follow their instincts and their urge to explore the immense world in which they have just arrived....

Crazy DotsTime 15 to 20 minutes Materials PaperPencil or pen Directions Each of you place 15 to 20 dots on the surface of a paper so that they are easy to see and spread apart.Exchange papers and look hard at the dots to imagine a picture.Connect...

Brainstorming ActivityAccording to Susan K. Perry in Playing Smart, the more a child uses brainstorming skills, the more creative a thinker she will be. Brainstorming is thinking up as many answers to a question as possible. Below are some ideas ...

Why Boredom May Not Be So Bad Like most parents on the planet, Kathy W. has heard the complaint, "I'm bored. I want to watch TV." Unlike many moms and dads, this New Hampshire mom tells her three sons, ages ten, seven and four, "That's good! Now...

If your child currently has no outlet each day for his creativity, homeschooling can change that. ...

A child who adopts behavior such as talking to himself is probably not in any real trouble, but it's worth exploring why. ...