* Focus on the purpose behind the mess. Almost all creative endeavors involve some degree of mess, noise, or both! For some moms, this is a real challenge :). To further complicate things, some projects are ongoing and need to be left out during completion. Take a deep breath, do what you can to confine and assign creative work spaces, but remind yourself of what is being accomplished in the mess. Even if there is no real "end project" in sight, there is a valuable process going on as your child creates. After all, there is a huge difference between your child leaving their dirty socks in the middle of their floor ( laziness) and your child needing to dump out the bucket of Lego bricks so they can see what parts they have available (creativity). The time for cleaning up will arrive eventually, but to paraphrase my favorite home designer Alexandra Stoddard's comment about her daughter's room, What creative child wouldn't have a messy room!?
*Encourage initiative, allowing success and failure to occur naturally. If your child has an idea, let them run with it! I am reading a fantastic book by Kurt Timmermeister entitle Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land. When speaking of purchasing his farm he says, " I bought this land and transformed it because no one said that I couldn't." I love this! So much could be accomplished in this world if people would stop discouraging others from trying new and challenging things! And it starts with allowing our children to test out their ideas and plans. One of the most creative individuals I know was allowed to totally transform her backyard to her liking with construction and engineering projects. Her birthday gifts were things like ropes, pulleys, and duck tape. Figuring out what to do with them was up to her! She has also sewn elaborate costumes, made her own clothing, and produced films of her pets. When she has an idea there is no one to stop her! As a result, she has developed a wide variety of skills and has full confidence in expressing her creative gifts. Sometimes things don't work out quite the way she had hoped, but this is part of the creative process ( not to mention part of life in general!). Don't try to block failure as your child attempts new things. I have one child who has to pay for her own basketball fees and she loves to come up with creative ways to earn money. Some of her ideas have worked very well and some have flopped. Having the freedom to try her ideas had developed confidence and has actually reduced her fear of failing. She's learned that some of her ideas are great ideas and, when an idea hasn't worked out,she's learned that it is not the end of the world. She remains always ready to try something new! Preserving the fearless desire to try something new is a huge part of nurturing creativity in children.
*Don't insist that your child always do things the way you do them. This judgement call can be a bit tricky because there are times when technique totally matters. For example, no one wants to have to re-learn the correct hand position when learning to play the piano. ( Believe me... I speak for experience!). However, there is great value in letting a child figure out the the best way to approach a problem or project. This kind of creative thinking will give them both experience and confidence that will serve them well as adults. It teaches them to consider their options, think about their strengths, and manage their time. Some individuals just naturally will do things in a unique way. One of the most skilled knitters I know knits in a really wacky way. It is not at all how it looks on the how-to-knit videos, but it works for her and her sweaters are breath taking. One of my children unloads the dishwasher in a way that makes no sense to me, but the job still gets done. I have also found that children who feel free to try out their own ideas/do tasks in their own way are also the ones who feel most free in asking for the " how-to" advice of others. Funny how that happens, but it is true!
Well, be looking for the third and final part of this series later this week! Be sure to check out my current ( and wonderful) read, Growing a Farmer, on the Amazon link below, as well as a wonderful book by designer Alexandra Stoddard! Thanks for stopping by Pleasantburg!
This post is linked to Far Above Rubies and Growing Home: Teach Me Tuesdays.
Your Nurturing Creativity in Children posts are wonderful! These are such great things for me to be mindful of in fostering creativity in my children. I learn a lot from you:)
ReplyDeleteYou are sweet. I learn a lot from you as well!
ReplyDeleteI love this!! I tend to be a bit too "type A" when it comes to arty messes, etc. Thanks for the insights! I look forward to reading part 3!
ReplyDeleteWhat a helpful and practical post for Moms in the thick of raising up children. I esp like the statement about "having the freedom to try their own ideas had developed confidence and had actually reduced her fear of failing". How true! I had to learn this the hard way years ago. I appreciate that you linked up and know it will be a blessing to others.
ReplyDeleteThese are all really sound ideas :)
ReplyDeleteI loved growing up in a 'creative' home. During a large chunk of my childhood, we didn't have a TV and what a blessing it was! I'd love to play outside, make bows and arrows, sit inside and just draw and write and journal and write poems. Being encouraged to be creative by my family gave me tools and confidence to last me a lifetime!
Visiting you from 'Deep Roots at Home' :)
Blessings,
This Good Life