It is never too late to begin living and thinking creatively. Begin by saying out loud to yourself, “I am a creative person. Creative ideas come to me daily!” then begin to say it with your children, “You are creative”, and “We are creative”.
Here are 7 rules to apply when having “creative & art time” with your children:
- Always have on hand variety of creative, artistic materials. These materials can include, but are certainly not limited to crayons, markers, paint, clay, various paper styles, glues, and scissors.
- Let them experiment
- Be specific with your encouragement. Instead of simply saying “I like your painting”, say, “I like how you used blue for the color of your sun, and the stripes on your frog are amazing!”
- Don’t guess what their art is; ask them to tell you about it.
- Choose a time and place without any interruptions.
- Don’t rush their creativity. If they aren’t finished in the time allotted, let them finish it later. Be sure to follow through with the finish day and time you both decide on.
- Try not to introduce too much. If the activity becomes too overwhelming, stop. Remember it is supposed to be fun, so be patient with their learning abilities.