Show children how to think outside box

Families can help children be creative, innovative and persistent problem-solvers throughout their lives. Creativity, also known as divergent thinking, is thinking outside the box.

Sometimes, it is thinking without having a box. Consider Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison.

When children have the opportunity to do divergent thinking, they break down a problems into its parts, think in a new way and develop their brain.

Studies by researchers at Cornell, University of Nebraska and in the Netherlands found that helping children be creative thinkers makes them more proficient in language and performance. They have a more positive mood and more entrepreneurial tendencies.

Creative activities

Here are some recommendations for children ages preschool and older, although researchers worked with children as young as two years.

Children can make some music with their bodies, clapping, tapping and making sounds with their mouths. Make different rhythms with them. Listen to marching bands and make imaginary instrument sounds. Dance around. Watch someone else dance around. Copy them and add something to the movement or sounds. Make the dance slightly different.

Do a lot of movement with children. Pretend to be an animal like a snake. How is the snake going to climb over the couch, the bed or up the stairs? Children can make a big snake with several kids hanging onto each other. How are they going to slither around the house cooperatively?

Children can build many structures using building blocks of all sizes and types. Add stuffed animals, cars, dolls and figures to nurture divergent thinking. Can they create a city or a secret fort, act out a story, rescue someone or have a celebration? There may be a mess. Divergent thinking is often messy so have bins around to help children organize and clean up.

Don’t answer that

How does one make green, orange or pink? To encourage divergent thinking provide primary watercolors, many Q-tips, dishes of water and paper. Encourage children to experiment and discover their own answers. Encourage them to make some beautiful colors by mixing. A large supply of Q-tip paint dippers will help keep the watercolor box clean.

They can also name their new colors.

A large box of Crayola colors has many creative color names. Can they change the name slightly to make it better, different or silly sounding? Can they make a color the same as a fruit or vegetable in the house, only better? Can they make a better color for a potato inside and out? There are many online images of Peru’s 4,000 kinds of potatoes. Can children make up a new kind or a new use for a potato?

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