Keeping The Spark Alive: Nurturing Imagination & Creativity whilst homeschooling
“Imagination is the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality”
— Merriam-Webster
A massive congratulations to parents of school-age children for surviving yet another stretch of homeschooling!! You must be drained from having to become a full-time teacher on top of everything else. Teaching is exhausting - it takes all your energy to inspire and keep attention let alone add creativity.
In classes with our students, we find that some of the most exciting and successful classes are driven purely by the kids’ imagination. Taking a relatively mundane object that you’d have lying around - a pen for example, and asking them to imagine it as something completely different can be the beginnings of an incredible devising session. Pens can become MI5 walkie-talkies or magical wands, and hairbrushes can become microphones or ladles that stir mystical potions. If a student has decided that in order to let go of their nerves during their speech, they have to imagine the audience as fluffy puppies - that is what we do. There is no doubt that encouragement is key in keeping their spark alive and their imagination flowing - so endless encouragement is what we will continue to deliver.
“When play taps into the imagination of other children and adults, the possibilities for exploration and learning are endless.”
— Dr Susan Irvine
Albert Einstein is quoted often as saying “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. Many suggest that his rationale for his words revolved around the idea that knowledge is limited, whereas, in contrast, our imagination can allow us to explore, create and understand without limits. Sometimes, as adults, we can easily forget the importance of our imagination. Children, however, are bottomless pots of creativity and fantasy, easily accessible through play and inventive fun.
Using Stimuli: You can help your child be more creative in their play by offering them a stimulus. Much like the pen or hairbrush in our online classes, if you suggest that the mat is a magic carpet or the cardboard box is a rocket you might be able to watch your child continue to create a whole world from that idea. You can also use drawings they have done and turn them into a story by suggesting other characters or situations. You never know, you might end up unleashing your own creativity in the process!
Here are some tips for nurturing your child’s creativity from home, thanks to the Bright Horizons Education Team:
Spend time outdoors. The benefits of nature for child development are endless. Because nature is ever-changing, it provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, and problem-solving. The natural world inspires children to think, question, make suppositions, and develop creative minds. Children can draw in the sand, make designs with twigs, build forts with branches, or simply lie on the ground and look up at the sky
Invent scenarios. When your child invents a scenario, he tries on lots of different roles and organizes his thoughts while developing social and verbal skills. Encourage your child to play house, doctor, zoo, farm, space station, school, or store. Join in the imaginative play by taking on a role yourself. Play with stuffed toys or puppets (make simple puppets by putting your hand in a sock). Let your child lead your playtime together. If your child is into superheroes, think of the power your child might want as his own superpower feeling. Consider having your child create a new superhero!
Verbal activities. From rhymes to riddles, silly sounds to phonics, games such as "I Spy" or making up lyrics to common tunes, verbal interactive activities can inspire and nurture creative minds. Simultaneously, these activities build vocabulary and help your child learn phonics. These games are also the perfect and fun way to spend time in car rides.
Encourage art activities. Art is creative expression that nurtures imagination, not a lesson in following directions. Through painting, sculpture, collage, clay, drawing or any other medium, art is a way for children to work through emotions, make decisions, and express their ideas. Manipulating art materials provides a sense of freedom yet also encourages focus and concentration. Art activities also develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Furthermore, art activities build confidence because children gain a sense of mastery over materials resulting in a new creation.
Share literacy activities. Make reading time memorable and discuss other possible scenarios or endings for the story by using your child's imagination. Make up stories with your child, at times with her as the main character; other times propose moral dilemmas. Take turns making up a continuing story.
Ask open-ended and thought-provoking questions. Asking questions that provoke imaginative and creative thinking is an effective way to invite your child to express his ideas and share his visions, while giving him the message that his ideas are important. "What do you think would happen if….?" "What's the difference between a dog and a cat?" "What are some other ways to do this?"
Limit screen time (television, movies, computer, tablet, smart phone, handhelds, video games, etc.). Nurturing imagination and parenting in the digital age can be tough. Focusing on a screen is a passive way of learning for children. An alternative would be to encourage children to create something new and different. Engaging children in a kinesthetic manner using their entire bodies and their five senses also opens the mind.
Remember to allow for down time. Unstructured, unscheduled time allows children opportunities to imagine and create.