When considering creativity for kids we must look at how they play. For children, play is naturally enjoyable. And for children playing is how they learn, develop and create.
Since it’s through their active engagement with things in what we call “hands on” interactions that motives children to learn, any form of education needs to occur through play.
We must also consider the fact that this play should be child-led, or, at least, child-inspired, for it to remain relevant and meaningful to them. Children at play are happily lost in themselves. They’re in their own realm of wonder, exploration and adventure. Can you think of a better way to encourage creativity for kids?
As early as infancy, children immerse themselves in play activities with the purpose of making sense of the world around them. Play gives children the opportunity to develop their creative faculties by learning and experiencing the artfulness of the world themselves, which is vital for their development.
Although peek-a-boo games seem pointless to us adults, tots are awed by the surprise that awaits them as they see the suddenly emerging faces of the people they love. You can see the wonder, joy and excitement just flowing through them with this simple activity.
Stages Of Play
Toddlers
Toddlers experience the world through anything they come in contact with. They show fascination in everything they can get their hands on which then immediately gets put into their mouth for a taste test. Creativity for kids at this stage isn’t something that needs to be programed as can be seen when the young child receives a gift and spends hours playing and creating things out of the packaging that the present came in.
Toddlers also love breaking into song, wiggling and jiggling to tunes, and imitating finger plays they are commonly exposed to by the adults around them.
Preschoolers
Preschoolers begin extending their play to involve others in their game playing and creative fantasy adventures. Their increased ability in physical and motor skills allow them to widen their play arena.
Creativity for kids at this stage expands into several forms from dramatic play to table games to outdoor pursuits. Who as a child hasn’t been the king or queen of the hill?
School-age children
School-age children start appreciating organized play such as group songs, games with rules, relays and other physical activities, sports, and projects that can be accomplished over a certain time frame. The organized part is fine but not so much as to stifle the creative instinct of the child.
What parent hasn’t stood by shouting for their child’s sport team as they watched their child examining a blade of grass or perhaps the bug on the grass as the ball whizzed right on by?
The Perks And Pure Joy Of Play For Children
For children, play is not tedious. And play must allow for the creativity of the child to shine through. Play benefits them in ways that might be a tad difficult for adults to imagine unless you think back to your own days of joy and wonderment as a child.
A toddler who jumps into an empty box and zooms around the house “driving a car” shows the sheer happiness and creativeness that play brings. When children are asked what they did in school and they answer “play”, it’s a clear indication that these kids remember a feeling of genuine joy that is captured in this four-letter word that many of us adult have left far behind.
Play Fosters Learning And Creativity For Kids
Do you know what a 10-month old baby who shrieks at the sight of her stuffed toy that has just returned from being hidden from view by her parent have in common with a 10-year-old girl who plays baseball with her local team?
For one thing, they’re both learning to internalize social rules. The baby is learning the meaning of anticipation and patience as she waits for the animal to return while the young girl is also learning these same traits as she waits for the next game to begin.
They’re both also learning independence in their decision making and developing confidence in themselves as they learn to deal effectively with these new situations.
What play can do to foster creativity includes all areas of a child’s development such as physical and motor skills, cognitive learning, language development, music, art, creative and imaginative thinking and bonding opportunities. While some parents dismiss play as simply something that is useless and unnecessary, researches tells us otherwise.
Yes, play actually is a vital part of a child’s development. So, while they’re young and very interested in play, let them spread their wings and make up their own world one play activity at a time.