"The imaginative child will
become the imaginative man or woman most apt to invent, and therefore to
foster, civilization."
L. Frank Baum
Curiosity +
Creativity = Play
From the moment of birth, likely even before, humans are
drawn to new things. When we are curious about something new, we want to
explore it. While exploring we investigate and discover. This is how we process
information, develop mental connections, and learn about the world around
us. More importantly this is how we
imagine, invent, express ourselves, and create new realities. Curiosity and creativity go hand and
hand. It's the interplay between these
two very natural and very human qualities that fosters our civilization and
fuels our future. Another word for it
is simply PLAY.
What is Creative
Play?
In its most natural, child-initiated form, play is
miraculously creative: unstructured,
open-ended, imaginative, carefree, and fun.
And children come by it naturally - seeing the world with fresh, new eyes
and then using what they see in original ways.
Music, art, language, and fantasy form the foundation of the
creative arts. As important as these
activities are, they are not the sole means by which children express their
creativity. All forms of play can
provide outlets for a child's creativity - be it building a block tower as high
as the sky or leapfrogging from puddle to puddle down a city sidewalk or a
country lane. The more children play, the better they get at it and the more
creative they become.
Child-Initiated vs.
Adult-Led Play
In the rush to provide children with skills and content,
adult-led play seems to have taken front seat.
Jane Healy and other child educators worry that by short-changing
child-initated play, "we are short-circuiting (our children's)
development."
Creative Play vs
Imitative Play
Girls prancing around like pretty ponies, boys plunging toy
knives into action figures, these may be fantasies but are these activities
really creative? What children see on TV
too often inspires play of this type.
It's basically imitative and tends to stifle rather than promote
creativity.
TV Toys vs. Creative
Playthings
Today a child's world is increasingly flooded with toys
licensed from TV shows or movies. These come equipped with specific play
scenarios that are highly structured and often embody violent themes. As such, licensed toys dictate how children
will play with them. They encourage
repetitive, imitative play and too often inhibit creative expression. ASTRA retailers believe they offer the
creative alternative - open-ended playthings, based on classic themes, that
tickle children's fantasies by expanding rather than shutting down
creativity.
Mass Market vs. Specialty Toy Stores
You can lead your children to making good toy and play
choices by exposing them to alternatives beyond the mass media. ASTRA retailers love to play and encourage
kids of all ages to come browse our toy shelves and sample our creative
playthings.
Nurture Creativity: What Adults can do
As parents, caregivers, and teachers, adults have the
responsibility to provide children with an environment that fosters creativity
and allows it to flourish.
Creativity Builders
-
Freedom Grant your child the space to discover, the
largesse to make mistakes, and an atmosphere that rewards originality. Provide adequate supervision but intervene
only when necessary. It's okay and lots
of fun to play along with your child.
Just remember you are not the child's entertainer. "I'm bored!" should never be a
signal to rush right in. Left to their
own devices, children - even small infants - do manage to amuse themselves,
often in wonderfully creative ways.
-
Time For a young child, it's the process, far more
than the product that's important. And
this creative process takes time and "down" time - time to think, to
imagine, to daydream, to mess around, to freely pursue possibilities.
-
Materials For infants, provide safe and
sensory-rich playthings - hanging mobiles, rattles and other manipulatives, musical
CD's and toys, and household objects like plastic bowls or empty boxes. For toddlers it's all the busy finger
playthings, from stacking blocks to busy boxes, books and other language-rich
activities, dolls and first role-playing toys as well as rhythm instruments and
basic art supplies, like paint, paper, and clay. Preschoolers need plenty of pretend play
paraphernalia, such as puppets, dress-up costumes and props, and are ready for
real art equipment such as easels and scissors.
-
Independence Store your child's creative
play stuff in an area that's readily available and independently accessible.
-
Inspiration In the child's creative play world,
adults participate as important role models and provide the primary
audience. Sing, tell stories, engage in
what-if? games, look, listen, ask open-ended questions, probe, praise and
applaud.
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