subject: Lilliput Wooden Outdoor Childrens Playhouses Inspire Creative Play And Curiosity [print this page] Allowing a childs imagination to blossom is as simple as letting them express themselves through good old-fashioned play. Whether its learning to problem solve by selling groceries, demonstrating self-expression while pouring tea for their favorite dolls, or concentrating on sliding down the pole of their firehouse, young minds need frequent opportunities to freely express themselves.
"All children can and should learn how to tap into their own creativity," says Torie Seeger, a senior program specialist at the Early Childhood Education and Training Program of the State University of New York at Albany. "Some of them simply need more opportunities and more guidance than others."
Creative play provides a rich learning environment where children should be encouraged to think and create on their own. To provide children the best opportunities for creative development, parents should:
- Encourage active playtime. Just like the muscles in their arms and legs, the imagination needs to be exercised.
- Provide lots of safe supplies. Think of storybooks, finger paints, and miniature tea sets as the tools of the trade.
- Let your child make the decisions. This is not the time to teach them about the grown-up way of doing things. Let their imaginations soar!
- Have realistic expectations. Dont force your children when or how to be creative. Part of the learning process is in letting them find their own way.
- Participate in creative play. Studies have found that children whose parents participate in creative play with them develop broader vocabularies and more flexible thinking skills, says Judy Lyden, director of the Garden School in Evansville, Indiana.
Children learn to respond, explore, communicate their ideas, and use their imagination when they have sufficient time to explore and research their ideas, states the Curriculum Guidance for The Foundation Stage, published in May, 2000. Whether it is selling groceries in their Neighborhood Market, holding a club meeting in their Lil Raskals Lookout, or merely finger-painting a picture to hang on the refrigerator, it is vital to nurture a childs creativity and innate curiosity by providing the tools necessary for emotional and mental growth.
So the next time your son or daughter invites you to see their latest artistic creation, asks you to help them play dress-up, or wants to sell you some produce, smile and remember what Anatole France said, The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards."
