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Help your children navigate their bumpy educational path during this pesky 21st-century pandemic with a dose of creativity that will make learning enjoyable again.
While the daily parenting struggles amid Covid are innumerable — the one that seems to weigh most heavily on the minds of parents is the state of their children's education. Most have been in and out of school — back and forth between in-person and remote learning on screens. The uncertainty, the constant state of flux, is proving detrimental to keeping children engaged and interested in school. As a result, parents are beside themselves. Of course, it's not as simple as thinking of home as school and living spaces as classrooms — however, there is a silver bullet for keeping learning on track, and it's as simple as sparking creativity for kiddos.
British author, speaker, international advisor on education in the arts, and prestigious Ted Talks speaker, Sir Ken Robinson once said, "Creativity should be treated with the same status as literacy in education." And taking Sir Robinson's sentiments one step further — creativity is a lifeline for literacy. In other words, sparking creativity for kiddos will benefit their learning —no matter where they're learning or how they're learning — and in the most remarkable ways. Tapping into one's creativity often involves stimulating all senses while ushering new knowledge from the darkness into the light. Combining creativity with learning at any age is the impetus for coherence, joy, and meaning for every educational experience.
Providing opportunities for creativity alongside those for learning is uber simple to accomplish, and it offers so many significant benefits. By injecting a little creativity into your child's school day, you can nurture emotional well-being, boost innovative thinking, encourage problem-solving skills, and ignite artsy passion — each of which is a whole other blog unto itself! However, for this blog, the crucial point to consider is that sparking creativity for kiddos will help them better navigate their bumpy educational path during this pesky 21st-century pandemic.
Creativity for kiddos is vital, here are three simple tips for sparking it!
[ No. 1 ] Learning should be fun!
Whatever you do, the goal is to encourage children to love learning rather than hate school. By sparking creativity for kiddos, you ensure that fun will follow — as will a genuine love of learning! Education experts like Sir Ken Robinson concur that children don't just grow out of creativity. Instead, they are educated out of it. Studies have shown knowledge that is the product of old-school, didactic learning is fleeting — not to mention that the learning process is as far from fun as you can get. In contrast, complete comprehension of a concept is more apt due to transformational, experiential, or hands-on learning — a super-fun process that can't be denied. So, in addition to assigned schoolwork — which is likely to be rote learning — try giving children oodles of engaging, hands-on activities using colorful, creative supplies. It can be as simple as drawing a picture with colored pencils or markers to illustrate something they've read. Or having children cut colored-paper shapes to help them with math skills. Or experiencing science rather than reading about it. Even taking time out of the day for creative role-play or listening to music can make learning fun. Just remember the following simple equation: LEARNING + HANDS-ON CREATIVITY = FUN
[ No. 2 ] Create the space!
While learning at home, provide your children with the perfect space. Encourage them to help you locate, organize, and decorate — within reason. Using their creativity to help design the space will allow them ownership and help them be motivated learners when occupying the space. Try to choose an area devoid of distractions, an area that offers good lighting, and one that is comfortable — without being too comfortable. Try to make it a single-use space for only creative endeavors, learning, and schoolwork. This arrangement will signal children that it's time to learn when they're in their learning space! Be sure that kiddos can get messy being creative in the space without causing you too much stress. However, nothing says you can't teach them about order in the world and insist they keep their area clean between activities — it's even okay to incentivize them to do so. In addition to these ideas, we love some of the suggestions from Redfin. Their latest blog How to Create a Learning Corner at Home for Kids features many helpful tips for creating a special space in the home, including one from Art Adventure Box®!
[ No. 3 ] Add a splash of art!
And finally, adding a little art to the school day to spark creativity for kiddos is a no-brainer! However, we often get comments from parents like, "I can't help my kids with art. I can't even draw a stick figure." To that, we answer, "Drawing is but one way to ignite artsy!" There are plenty of ways to create your art your way without drawing realistically — all of which are fantastic ways to express your creative self. For instance, you can
visit Art to Know with MommyO™ for mini-adventures in fine art. In blog and vlog format, MommyO introduces your kiddos to a famous piece of artwork and then guides them through an artsy craft using materials you're sure to have lying around the house. We love it because it's anytime art with everyday materials and it's so simple! Art Kits 'n' Kaboodles from Art Adventure Box® are another way to easily help your children express their creativity. Everything you need — right down to the No. 2 pencil — is included in the box. And the best part is that you don't even need to draw a stick figure to provide an educationally fun, hands-on art adventure for your children! For more information, explore how Art Kits 'n' Kaboodles work on our website.
Art Adventure Box® products make it simple to get hands-on with artistic inspiration plus Earth-friendly, premium tools and materials to create your art your way — or help your children do so. Please feel free to check out all the products!
