How to Nurture Children’s Creativity

It’s time to Get Creative, as the BBC kick-off their Get Creative & Make a Difference campaign. Social distance may still be an ongoing measure of pandemic pandemonium, but with lockdown loosening and people preparing to re-connect, there is no better time to get little imaginations flowing. Join Jaques of London, as we put our on-staff educators to work and discover how to nurture children’s creativity.

Be sure to stick around until the end for information on how to enter our card creative collaboration, with Jaques of London and Cardology.

Unleashing your child’s creativity is a key part of developing academic independence and confidence of expression. By boosting their desire to try and experiment with new ideas, creative children are often aided by an increased attention to detail and stronger emotional awareness. But what can we do to encourage our children to play creatively?

Art

Colour and creativity go together like kids and crayons. Mini Michelangelo’s and Little Leonardo’s excel with palette in hand. Of course, all artists deserve their own exhibition space. Inspire your child’s artistic endeavours by presenting them with their own mini museum of inventive illustration; Art Easels are the perfect way to get children drawing freely. Fitting alongside the Montessori method of early education, Easels provide children with a blank slate of creative endeavour, perfect for revealing their artistic visions - making artistic endeavour one of the best Montessori Toy choices available.

Music

Whether soothing the savage beast of lulling with lullabies, music has plenty of note-worthy benefits. Hitting the high notes of creative expression, music has long been incorporated into school education, with evidence showing that it not only serves to boost a child’s IQ, but perhaps more importantly, their persistence in undertaking new challenges.  

When introducing music to young children for the first time, simplicity and sensory engagement should be key. From booming fun on the bass drum to tickling the musical funny bone with a xylophone, new musical maestros respond to bright colours and vivid sounds. So, when sparking creativity through song, be sure to keep things simple. Sound will do the rest.

Garden

We aren’t all born to stay indoors. In fact, when it comes to getting kids out and about, the spring sunshine is a magnet of outdoor adventure. Getting out in the garden can prove an open-ended journey through the creativity of nature. Mother nature may have already waved her wand of beauty to give us colourful rainbows, fluffy clouds and glorious sunshine (at times), but there are plenty of creative endeavours to be undertaken on her behalf.

Floral fascination never ends when getting crafty with cultivation. Blending agriculture and art, an early fascination with flowers could be your child’s first steps to Chelsea. Over at the Jaques of London Mini Minds Hub, we look to bring bloom to creative expression with our DIY Spring Globes – Bringing the beauty of the outdoors in to your home, you will have a constant reminder of what a creative mind can unleash. But be sure to forgive us if your happy horticulturalist turns your home into the next Eden Project. Creativity is contagious.

Reading

Reading may not appear as the most creative outlet. However, we must all learn to walk before we can run. Regular reading is a sure-fire way to spark the imagination and show that, there are no limits to what the mind can create.  According to a 2020 report by the National Literacy Trust, a third (34.5%) of children surveyed found that they read more during lockdown. So, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Take advantage of the reading revolution today and get creating! Whether toddling their way into early learning letters games or pottering through the wizarding world of Harry, there has never been a better time to unleash your inner bookworm.

Writing

The greatest writers often inspire the next generation. So, with pages turned and books read, writing can be the next natural step to literary creative freedom. Whether writing a diary, letter, poem, short story, or indulging in word play games, language is perhaps the most creative tool we have. No idea is a silly one, so encourage your child to develop their own ideas. Often getting our ideas onto the page is half the battle. So, whether crafting detailed characters or working on the plot twist finale, sitting down with your child to discuss their ideas is a fantastic way to encourage and spark a lifelong fascination with words. Creativity is a story that deserves to be written.

Technology

The Fred’s and Barney’s among us may struggle to see the creativity in beeps and boops from our computing companions. However, there is a great deal of creativity to be experienced from the technological world. Generation Alpha is raring for robotics, confident with code and yelling for YouTube, providing entirely new outlets for creative expression.

Whilst regular screen time can be seen as a potential educational stumbling blocks, computational creation is having an increasing significance in 21^st century life, with no sign of slowing down. A 2020 study by Statista found that, out of 2000 children under 10 years of age, over half were already creating online videos, whilst just under half were already regularly tinkering with electronics.

Of course, should modern imagination prove too technologically challenging, you can always escape to bedrock whilst the kids code their way to creative excellence.

As you can see, there are many ways to encourage our children and build their creative confidence. Knowing how to nurture children’s creativity takes some imagination of our own. We hope that out little index of ingenuity serves you well; It’s time to Create and be Great!

For more magical creative opportunities, head on over to the Mini Minds Hub. And, for your chance to win big with Jaques of London and Cardology, pay us a visit at Instagram now!