Nurturing Creativity

Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

Creativity has always been a part of my life. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have access to some method of using creativity – since I can remember, my mind has been actively creative. . . playing with markers and fingerpaints as a toddler, making up dances and plays and stories when I was young, creating elaborately decorated school projects. . . I even wrote a few really interesting stories as an elementary school student – and illustrated them (though I really wasn’t the most gifted artist). Dancing through my youth and adolescence, learning ballet, tap, musical theater and eventually enjoying modern dance disciplines. . . even while competing in speech competitions in middle and high school, which are judged on an objective scale. . . I was drawn to be incredibly creative and interpretive. And now, all (well, mostly) grown up, I sing, dance, sew, knit, craft, and adapt my way through motherhood.

It doesn’t matter what I’m doing . . . I’m pretty much always creative about it. When there’s a need for a tight budget, I make it work. I can see an alternative solution to a problem. I tend to make up rhymes and songs to sing to my lovelies. Creativity is absolutely a blessing. But I daydream, too. I get lost in thought. Sometimes, my mind is so full of inspiration and ideas that I feel a but jumbled. . . and as a friend recently reminded me to do, I have to let it all go into a sketchbook in order to come back to reality (but save those fantastic ideas for another more appropriate time). So sometimes it can be a bit of a frustration, too.

But creativity is something I definitely enjoy nurturing in my children, and something that I think is incredibly important to remember to make time for. In a world that is pretty crazy, nurturing creativity, even in the simplest ways, encourages a child to honor the beauty and meaning in themselves, and in everything around them. I was blessed as a child with an incredibly supportive set of parents who allowed me to follow my interests, and made available the resources that I needed to indulge them. And now, I’m a creative mother in turn. This doesn’t mean that I do elaborate crafts with my kids, or expect them to learn to color between the lines of a coloring book. This also doesn’t mean that if Abbey ends up more interested in soccer than dance or likes math more than music that I’ll stress the importance of art to a fault.

It just means that I keep materials on hand to let Abbey be creative with (artistically) when she wants to, and I nurture that desire to create by allowing her to do it on her own time, in her own way, with her own hands, at her own speed. It means that when Abbey comes up to me with some crazy made up story about her little pig needing to find his mommy, and the assertion that I MUST don daddy’s shoes and a fireman hat and wave her fairy wand to help out, I do. When Joseph makes noises, I repeat them back to him in different tones and volumes. We sing songs together. Sometimes without words. Just repeating the sounds and facial expressions he makes. Abbey usually reaches for her markers, her dress up clothes, and her books before she wants to watch a movie – and even when she does ask to watch TV, it’s always something with songs she can sing (and dance) along to. She probably knows over thirty songs. That girl loves to sing, and picks up melodies so quickly! Both children watch me knit. They see the things I sew for them. To Abbey, something “made” is a precious item. She even pretends to make things for her baby brother out of scraps of fabric and her very own “knitting” (which at this point, is just a bundle of acrylic yarn out of my stash, and my least used knitting needles). Recently, she drew this picture specifically “for daddy” on her own after breakfast one day. It’s “the ocean for daddy’s boat.”

Being creative with my children is not hard. But it is important. And as an adult, it takes some dedication and attentiveness. Like remembering not to interrupt a wild, fantastical story – or only intervening in a craft in order to prevent an injury or encourage cooperation

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family’s cherished tradition of family draw time.
• The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the “Non-Creative” — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her “non-creative” child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
• Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up “little spaces of beauty.”
• Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how ‘creating together’ has evolved from ‘things’ to memories.
• The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
• Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
• Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
• How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
• Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
• Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
• Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
• Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
• Home School Music – Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
• Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
• Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
• Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.
• We’ll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
• Let’s Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
• Everything’s Better When It’s Homemade — Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
• Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
• 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don’t need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
• Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
• Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
• Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
• Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling “crafty,” Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
• An Artist-Mama’s Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son’s, and how they embrace those differences together.
• Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
• Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
• Creating with Children – The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
• How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
• In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.