Creativity!

"You cannot teach creativity. All you can do is let it blossom, and it blossoms in PLAY!" - Kyung Hee Kim 

We recently borrowed the book "The Day the Crayons Quit!" from our local library and it became an instant favorite. In this book, each crayon from a crayon box writes a little note to their owner (a little boy named Duncan) about their thoughts and troubles. In the end, the boy decides to make all his crayons happy and creates a beautiful,colorful picture addressing each crayons' appeals. He gets an A for coloring and A+ for creativity!

After we read the book, Sid asked ," Mom, what is creativity?". "Creativity means thinking outside the box, presenting your ideas differently.", I replied. There was a puzzled look from the twins. "Just do differently", I stressed on my words wondering how else I could explain.

A few minutes later the kids were going about their business. Nidhi was practicing playing "Farmer in the Dell" rhyme on her xylophone and Sid was engrossed in drawing a picture. Then Nidhi started drawing and coloring.

Some time later Nidhi came running ,"Mom! Look at my creativity!" She shoved her drawing in front of me with excitement. Here is a snapshot of her picture.

I was blown away by her explanation. Here is how it went.

Nidhi's creativity

" These are color notes for rhyme 'Farmer in the Dell'. I wanted the notes to go down like stairs. But, there was not enough paper. So I wanted to make it like a circle. That's how the rhyme goes. The same notes in circle, right? So I drew them in circle but it became like a big D. These notes goes through the yellow door in circles. The yellow door is the big D's ear. The ear is our door for listening music. Big D is sad because the same music is circling in its ears and it never stops! I also added another ear, hands and legs for the D. This is my CREATIVITY!"

Looking at her excitement, Sid came showing his art. Here is his picture.

Sid' creativity

"Look at my creativity mom!". "Can you tell me about your creativity?", I asked. "My picture has two suns and one moon at the same time in a yellow sky! These are boats sailing on green ocean. One boat has a big green feather and a man is trying to stand on top of the feather! This is my CREATIVITY!", he explained.

At a later time after a visit to a nearby temple Sid was drawing sculptures of Gods he had seen earlier. "This is Lord Krishna with Hanuman (the monkey God). " , he explained. "That's creative.", I murmured. "No Mom, That is just my IMAGINATION.", was his response.

 I have never put too much thought about difference between creativity and imagination.I wonder if he really understands the difference between creativity and imagination.

 Be it creativity or imagination, this episode has taught me a couple of lessons.

1. Books are good sources of provocation for creative thinking and inquiry. Select books that can trigger such sparks in kids.

2. Let go of your instincts to teach them correctness or realism. That just kills original thinking.

Share your thoughts on how you encourage creativity and imagination in your young kids.