THE BENEFITS OF CREATIVE LEARNING

Written by Caroline Meyer

Creativity allows a person to show self-expression. This is one form of learning that allows a child to express themselves without having to worry about being judged. This allows them to bring out emotions that they wouldn’t in any other form of learning. It also helps nurture their emotional growth and well-being.  The best part of creativity is that not much is needed for the process. Give them the tools and let them put their minds to work on their own. Even from very early ages while they are still infants, they can benefit emotionally as well as develop in other ways through the freedom of self-expression. You can also learn a lot from what the child creates as this also allows them the freedom to express their emotions through their work.  

Creativity allows children the freedom to try out new things, explore new ideas as well as problem solve on their own. Allowing self-expression through creativity allows your child to show how unique they are. While a child is still young it is important to develop the imagination through music, dance, drama, arts and crafts. Creativity of this sort helps improve confidence, allows for expression of emotion, improves coordination and motor skills, improves communication skills, allows for exploration as well as improved critical thinking and problem solving.  

There is no need to force a child in to a specific area of creativity either. They can be creative based on their own interests.  Some children like banging on a drum while others may prefer to play with play-dough, some enjoy making up stories while others like to act them out. You don’t need to restrict creativity to painting, sculpting and drawing either. Let them work with mosaics, wire, clay, wood, paper, interesting flowers and leaves (check for safety) and so much more. You provide materials and let them decide what to do with them. Sit down with your child and let them tell you what they want to do. If they ask for help, give advice instead of doing it for them. Let them try and figure it out first. There is a lot that you can do to foster their imagination and improve their thought processes. 

Go on field trips and take a cheap camera for your child to take pictures with. It’s fine if they are not great photos, that is all part of development. Let them experience diverse cultures and ethnic groups. Show them wildlife, history, architecture and more and let them develop in their own unique ways. The more they are exposed to, the greater the imagination when it comes to creating things on their own. Allow them to listen to audio books or better yet, read to them. Take them to plays and dances once they are old enough. Let them learn songs and make up their own or tell you stories from their own imagination. The more open you are to having your child share their imagination with you, the more they will want to. Let them be dinosaurs or crocodiles, princesses and knights, let them dress up and take on roles to let their imagination blossom. Get them puppets to play with, or better yet, help them make some of their own. You can let them put on a puppet show for the family or you can role play with them to simulate social interaction and relationships. This can also help foster good manners like waiting for the other person to stop talking before talking themselves. 

You do not have to wait until your child starts preschool to start fostering their creativity.  Give a toddler some pots and buckets and a wooden spoon and watch them become drummers. Take them to the beach and build sand castles together. Play with bubbles. Let them squish homemade play dough in to blobs of their own making. You can even start teaching basic shapes from an early age and let them start colouring in as soon as they learn not to eat the crayons. You can sing to them, read to them and let them try sing along or “read” on their own. Dance with your little one while listening to music.  

Play with blocks and puzzles to foster mental acuity and help them build up their decision making skills and improve problem solving. Self-expression through creative play also relieves stress and allows children to be themselves without fear or being reprimanded or judged. They learn to make choices and see the direct consequences of the choices they make. This type of learning also allows them to experiment and learn on their own.  Set up the creative learning props and let the child do their own thing. Try not to direct the creativity but rather be on hand to stimulate and encourage them to build on their own inspiration. 

While some structure can be incorporated, try and restrict their creativity as little as possible. Instead of giving them pre-drawn pages and telling them what colours to use, give them a blank sheet of paper and adequate colours and let them design their own drawings. Instead of setting up drums, offer a variety of items that can make a noise of some kind when tapped on and let them make up their own drum sets. There are many ways to stop creative learning being too structured and simply allow children to imagine and explore on their own.