Let’s cultivate their creativity – 5 ideas for artistic activities to cultivate children’s creativity

Can being creative be learned?

“ If a person cannot read or write, you do not assume that he is incapable, but simply that he has not learned it. It’s the same with creativity .” The words of Ken Robinson, an educator specializing in the development of creativity, are unequivocal. Being creative can be learned. And creativity affects all fields of human activity: to imagine a decisive pass in football, the team must be creative, to solve a scientific enigma, the researchers must be too, to respond to the major challenges of the world of tomorrow, we must also be.

For the development of creativity, freedom and the incentive to experiment are fundamental and artistic disciplines constitute a good training ground. So, rather than requiring us to “not overwhelm” or to be “a nice guy,” let’s provide our children with space and equipment. And let’s let them be free. To overflow. To try. Miss”. Pomme d’Api offers you below 5 ideas that require paper and colors. But modeling, music, theater, dance, etc. can of course spark creativity. Without forgetting contemplation, boredom, reading, free play… Let us keep in mind, as Ken Robinson reminds us, that “ all human progress rests on imagination .”

6 tips to read before starting activities

Don’t take everything out For a small child, take out the pastels, markers, colored pencils, etc. It’s disconcerting! It is also better to choose only one color or two (blue + yellow, or red + yellow, or one color + white). There can of course be “self-service” sessions where you have access to all the material, but not every time.

Protect the environment A blouse (or an old T-shirt) for young artists, an old oilcloth on the table… To avoid the paint pot tipping over under the weight of the brushes, replace it with a deep plate. Or group the pots into groups of three using a large rubber band.

Attach the supports Difficult for a little one to hold his sheet while drawing or painting on it. It is best to secure it using painter’s tape or masking tape. If you can use a vertical surface or easel, that’s even better for large drawings.

Archive their creations Note their name and date on the back. Why not install a string in the hallway or in your bedroom, and hang the most recent works there with clothespins? Some parents take photos of them and then archive them digitally and… secretly get rid of a few square meters of paper. Because production can be excessive!

Arm yourself with patience You need it to refrain from intervening! We so want him to discover that blue + yellow = green. However, blue on its own is good too, right? Likewise, our child enjoys spreading glue in multiple layers and we see it as a waste. But glue can be an end rather than a means, right? Oops, he dips his fingers in the paint pot… And why not a work with his fingers?

React with finesse “ Oh, the beautiful hen  !” “ But it’s not a chicken! ” defends the little artist, with tears in his eyes. We always tend to want to see “something” in drawings. Our classic reaction: “It’s pretty, what is it?” The child does not always seek to represent anything. He is in the pleasure of the material, of the line, of the trace. We might as well just describe what we see: “You used blue and red. There, I see that it is much darker than here. Whereas in this corner, you chose not to add color .” Older children can be asked to tell what they did.

5 creative activities to do with children

• Milky fireworks – To open your eyes wide – For all ages
• Full-length, life-size self-portrait – To take your place in the world – At 3 years old and… much older
• The doodling challenge – To create together – From 3 years old
• Shadows and lights – To see reality differently – From 5 years old
• As big as possible – To free your mind and your gestures – From 3 years old