Our little ones are always inventing and testing. This is how they learn to interact with the world around them. Inventors affect every facet of our lives, and we want to encourage children to be creative and learn to become problem solvers, but how?
Creativity is often described as the action you take after imagination. In other words, it’s not imagination alone but how you put your imagination into action. In the business world, we call it insights into action. The combination of imagination, creativity and problem solving becomes innovation.
We can nurture creativity and innovation in our children by allowing them to try new things, providing a lot of time for free play and creating an enriched learning environment at home.
- Provide access to different toys and materials. A variety of toys that are changed often will provide your child with cognitive stimulation and promote curiosity and exploration. The toys don’t need to be fancy. In fact, toys that require imagination, like cardboard boxes and old clothes for dress-up, are often the most stimulating!
- Give them books. Access to books is important, and the public library can help keep the selection varied. We love Rosie Revere, Engineer written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts and My Most Magnificent Thing written and illustrated by Ashley Spires.
- Explore how things work. Take apart old equipment, such as a toaster or computer. Before you throw things away, think about how they can be recycled for play. Children will be fascinated by all of the parts.
- Discover your community. Trips to the zoo, different local parks, museums and even grocery stores add valuable variety to your child’s experience and can spark amazing ideas!
