Unlike standard intelligence, creative thinking is the ability to not just find the correct answer but to find new and unique solutions as well. A child with strong creative thinking skills can think independently and is excellent at working through difficult problems. Creativity is not limited to artistic ability. It is a process of thinking that allows children and adults to openly explore various outcomes and scenarios.
Creative children are typically eager to learn new things. It is important to encourage creative thinking, especially in children under eight years old, with a variety of stimulating toys and activities. Provide your child with choices whenever possible and allow him to explore the many ways he can play with a particular toy.
Help your child continue to develop their thinking process by asking open ended questions. Expose him to various cultures and different people. Help him to understand that there are usually numerous ways to solve a single problem. As you and your child explore new outcomes, be sure to emphasis the thinking process your child uses to arrive at an answer over the actual answer itself.
Children are always asking questions and attempting to understand things in their world. Promote creative thinking by asking questions as well. Ask questions that will cause your child think in new ways. Discuss what you would do if it was always dark. Ponder the many different uses of a simple object like a paperclip. Think about how everyday objects could be changed to make them better. These types of questions make a child think more openly, helping him to discover new ideas.
Reading books and telling stories also promote creativity. Read books with characters that solve their problems in a unique way and discuss other ways the issue could have been resolved. Have your child create a different ending to a book by asking what if questions. Use puppet theaters to act out real life scenarios, exploring the different ways various people may feel in a particular situation.
Open ended art activities are wonderful ways to encourage creativity in children. Provide your child with a wide selection of materials in various textures, yarns, markers, and glue. Allow him to use things in whatever way he would like and watch the outcome. Use sticks, clay, and wood scraps to explore various ways of building.
Imaginative play promotes creativity by allowing a child to express various feelings that may result from a single action. Children can pretend to be an animal and express how an animal would act if he was hungry. Building a make-believe fort with blankets and chairs will help develop problem solving skills as a child explores the various ways of placing the blankets to make the best fort.
Creativity is fostered through a child’s ability to see that there is more than one way to do something the right way. Encourage your child to ask questions and to explore new possibilities. A creative thinker is much more adaptable to change during the teenage and adult years. Creativity inspires humans to test new ideas and further develop our society.