Creativity is an important part of your child's development. It contributes to many aspects of learning, including speech and language.
Find out why it's important, and scroll down for some easy low cost arts and craft based creative activities to get you started at home.
Why is creativity important?
- Creativity allows your child to learn about and explore the world around them and to express their thoughts and ideas.
- Creative play supports the development of curiosity, imagination, problem solving and open-minded thinking.
- Creative play can also support the development of communication skills, social interaction, physical skills, and thinking skills.
- Creative play and learning are not limited to arts and crafts, dance, and music. Creativity is an important aspect of mathematical and scientific learning too.
Children can and will find opportunities to be creative in every aspect of their daily lives and with different objects and materials they come across. For example, babies may make marks with their fingers in spilled food, or older children might arrange their snack in a shape before eating it!
How can you support your child's creativity?
- Children learn best through play, and to support creativity, play needs to include exploration and experimentation.
- Follow your child’s lead, children learn best when they are interested and able to make some of their own decisions and choices within their play.
- Children are naturally curious, inquisitive and creative. Watch and listen carefully to your child so you can support and encourage these behaviours.
- Engage in creative play together with your child. This will support their understanding and use of language in different contexts, and will build their vocabulary.
Top tips for easy arts and craft activities at home:
- Focus on the process not the product! For children the fun, and the learning part of an art activity, is the doing. Young children are not usually concerned with the appearance of their finished work.
- Praise your child’s thoughts, ideas, and skills, not just the finished product.
- Provide time, space and freedom for children to be creative.
- Use materials you already have at home, there's lots of free or low cost arts and crafts you can do at home.
