Several Ways to Encourage Children's Creativity

Help your kid discover a talent for architectural design! Visit your favorite playground and evaluate what your child loves most about it. What equipment does he enjoy the most? Can he think of a new type of slide? What could make the playground more interesting? Use these visits and conversations to inspire him to design an original jungle gym or swing set. Start with graph paper and have him illustrate diagrams and plans with specific placement of each piece of equipment. Then create a visual representation using straws, cardboard, toilet paper, and paper towel rolls.

Every child wants to have super powers, so challenge yours to create her own superhero persona. In You Are Your Child's First Teacher, author Rahima Baldwin Dancy states, "Children .. love to transform themselves into characters who can act out roles in imaginative play." Ask your child what super powers she would like to have and what superhero name she would choose. Then draw a superhero logo and use old sheets and scraps of material to create an outfit (and potential Halloween costume).

Explore the comics section of the local newspaper with your child and discover what makes him laugh. Use his response to create an original comic strip, complete with characters and illustrations. Create a storyboard and have him fill in each box by drawing a scene with a speech bubble. Come up with a name for the comic strip and each of the characters. "When children realize that writing is a medium for communicating their ideas and stories, the possibilities for expression become limitless" says Mariah Bruel in Playful Learning. Discover your child's talent for writing or drawing comic situations through this activity

Gather other families from the neighborhood or school and take turns choosing age-appropriate books each month and writing a list of questions for discussion about the characters, plots, themes, and settings. Make the meetings a fun potluck dinner with foods that relate to the story -- your children can take part in the cooking and help brainstorm appropriate foods. For example, if you're reading James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, each participant can create a dish incorporating peaches, like peach pie or salsa.