by Rachel Wells

Creativity has a profound impact on a child’s development, from boosting confidence to improving problem solving skills. Parents might hear “creativity” and think large art projects, big messes, and more work for themselves, however that isn’t the case at all!

Encouraging creativity in children is easier than you might think, and it can flow right into your daily routines at home. Here are 6 ways you can easily encourage your child’s creativity.

Cooking

Cooking and baking are naturally creative activities, so invite your child into the kitchen to work alongside you whenever possible. Every so often let you child choose new recipes of their choosing to create with you as well.

Dance Parties

There’s nothing like a good old dance party to encourage self-expression and creativity. Throw on a party mix and get the whole family in on the action.

Storytelling

Take turns creating a story by adding one sentence at a time. You can be as silly or adventurous as you want with this one which adds to the fun.

Doodle Dinner

Roll out a large piece of paper or disposable paper table cloth on the dinner table. Grab some coloring supplies and encourage doodling and conversation while you eat. After you clear the table, you can work together to try and connect your pictures into one large piece of art.

Play Would You Rather

Would you Rather type questions are a great way to spark imagination and make players think about what they value most. The best part about this game is you can play it literally anywhere.

• Would you rather ride to school on a giant turtle or fly there on a flock of geese?
• Would you rather sneeze glitter every time you laugh or hiccup bubbles every time you talk?
• Would you rather have spaghetti for hair or marshmallows for toes?

Grow a Picture

Set a timer for one minute and have everyone in the family draw a small object or shape on their own piece of paper. When the timer goes off everyone has to stop drawing and pass their paper to the person on their left. Everyone then has one minute to add something to the drawing they were just passed. Continue passing the pictures around in a circle twice so everyone gets two chances to draw on each picture. This one will certainly force everyone to be creative, and the final drawings will be hilarious.