How to Promote Creative Thinking in Kids with Creative Games
Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” and we could not agree more. Creative games spur inventive thinking, an important skill for well-rounded development and highly-prized in the 21st century. You might imagine creative thinking is all about dabbling in the arts or writing poetry – and it is, but there is so much more to it. The benefits of creative thinking games spill over into other areas of life. Since it involves using mental muscles it:
- Boosts problem solving activities for kids in useful and original ways
- Keeps children’s passion and motivation for in-depth learning high
- Encourages the development of social and emotional skills
- Fine tunes motor skills
Kids naturally tend to be creative. They are always losing themselves in play and exploration, asking questions, playing make believe, making mistakes, daydreaming, and improvising. If nurtured, they will be well on their way to developing radical technologies, finding solutions to global problems, discovering a cure for diseases or making one-of-a-kind buildings. So, the greatest gift you can give your kids is to immerse them in creative pursuits.
How to help your child’s creative games thinking flourish?
Practicing creativity is one way to do it. Encourage kids to draw from their imagination, think up stories, build something from marshmallows and ice cream sticks, cloud watch and interpret their shapes, make a sculpture from aluminum foil, or try any other activity that can help them think outside the box. If you really want to get your kids excited, try a more playful approach. Because children have a notoriously small attention span, playing a creative games for kids can be a really effective way to open them up to unusual interpretations and sparking creativity and ultimately problem solving and innovation.
Throw out the rulebook: Creative Games to Play at Home
Games that have fewer rules gives kids room to think on their own. Some of the most creative games are the simplest. Old-fashioned games like Story Cubes and Pictionary open kids up to think big and unleash their inner genius. If your kid loves his time on the iPad, augmented reality (ar) gaming systems are your best bet. Creative games to play at home such as Monster allow for unstructured free play.
You won’t have to get the brushes and paints out for this one! Monster encourages children to enjoy the creation process and gives kids the opportunity to become part of magical animated activities through their own versions of objects like wands and potions. For older kids, creative thinking games like Newton gets kids to use ordinary objects in unusual ways and guide a falling ball. It inspires kids to think more openly. The idea is to arm them with creative games and then simply get out of the way, or better yet join them and play. Kids will for sure relish this time with you. When there is no guidance, kids can tap into their creative instincts more easily. An hour of play with creative games and activities for kids at home everyday is optimal. Don’t worry about the mess because creativity, after all, is about letting loose and having fun.
