Creativity

Over dinner recently, a friend of mine commented, "Your children are so creative. They must've gotten that from you." Honestly, I think all children are/can be creative if given the chance.  To me, chance equals time and space.

Many parents out there want their children to excel in creativity, and businesses that promise enhancing creativity in children are booming. I'm not against such businesses, and I think some are truly valuable. But can a child who's often so tired from all that school work, extra curricular activities and tuition really absorb what's being taught in creative classes?   Or do they merely produce what's needed/expected just like in any tuition class?

From a personal point of view, when my daughter went to school full time, creativity was not her priority. She'd usually be focused on homework in the morning, then quickly packing her school bags, getting ready, and all school related stuff. When she got back from school, she'd be tired, hang out just half an hour at the playground, shower, dinner and then work on homework before knocking out from  tiredness. Her spare time was often spent worrying about what teacher said, what a friend did etc.. Day in and out it was that way, and she just did not have space, time and energy (plus peace of mind) to indulge in creativity.

When we pulled her out of school, all of a sudden, there was time on her hands. We have a schedule, but not a strict one. There are days when we work hard, and days when we play. But on play days, I have one rule in this house, which is, "You may do anything you want, as long as it is not destructive.However, you may NOT have TV between 8am and 6pm, and preferably no TV on most days.

Initially, they would get bored. But in that boredom....(Time and Space), creativity began to emerge in various ways. In my older child it was in building and making things. In the younger it was in acting/singing and drawing. Soon boredom disappeared, and every spare time became a time to create.

And I've never sent them to a creative class, all I gave them was time and space.

Yes, there were things I did to spur them along, like
- I'd provide them with new art materials, google different artists' works online, and different mediums of art
- we'd  visit art galleries, go  to ballet/music concerts and watch plays
-we'd visit interesting places for inspiration  (padi fields, a potter's workshop, museum, exhibitions.etc.)
- Take long walks just to enjoy nature and all its splendor, sometimes "armed" with a camera
- spend several nights camping away from the city, where the jungle becomes their playground
-talk to interesting people
-host imaginary tea parties, talk shows at home
-read lots of wonderful books

The above are just some of the stuff we do together. And they don't really take a lot of time...but they "open" my children's eyes to a wider perspective of things. They provide bits of inspiration and ideas that become a stepping stone to a creative project.

So..Creativity...yes, there are classes that can help enhance creativity, but the best help is to give the child time (lots of it) and space.





@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2013