by Lucy H. Pearce.
Today's topic is Nurturing a Culture of Creativity at Home. Be sure to read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way!
November 27th: Creative Heroines.
December 4th: Creative Inheritance.
December 11th: The Creative Process.
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Sometimes life is so crazy, we are all busy with our activities, our jobs our families, that the thought of adding in another 'thing' is just too much.
But I am also all about the 'easy solutions'. My life is too complicated to have scheduled "creativity dates" (as much as I would love to do this!), and sometimes the thought of dragging out the paints so my girls can create is sometimes just beyond me.
So I thought I would share with you some of the easy ways we have encouraged our girls to be creative in Casa de Mac that require only a little set up from you + maybe it will spark a few ideas that you could incorporate into you home too.
But if you are a regular reader here, you know that it is so very important to me that my kids have a creative life + a home that they feel they feel safe in to explore their creativity.
But I am also all about the 'easy solutions'. My life is too complicated to have scheduled "creativity dates" (as much as I would love to do this!), and sometimes the thought of dragging out the paints so my girls can create is sometimes just beyond me.
So I thought I would share with you some of the easy ways we have encouraged our girls to be creative in Casa de Mac that require only a little set up from you + maybe it will spark a few ideas that you could incorporate into you home too.
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| 'Mama - Today we are pirate princesses' My Bug + Bean |
In our box there are old hats, scarfs, telescopes made from paper towel roll, old bags, our 'no sew' princess tutus (These are so cheap + super easy to make) and our pirate hats + eye patches (you can download the template here).
Sometimes we have three or four costume changes before breakfast.
Thrift stores are another fabulous place to pick up things for your dress up box.
In our house, every day is dress up day + I don't care if we go grocery shopping or to preschool dressed up. (In our house, a tiara is just another word for head band!)
But the point is, that in having no restrictions on using the dress up box, they are constantly creating, playing + exploring boundaries.
Don't have any dress up stuff? What about old shirts, old shoes + a newspaper crown or pirate hat?
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| Bug + Beans Art Desk: Complete with vision board of pretties as Bean calls them! |
☆ WE HAVE A CREATIVE SPACE.
Having a designated art space that your kids can access all the time means that creating can become a part of their every day lives - not something to fear or for special occasions. Or that you have to organise for them.
Being a creative person myself, it was just natural that I bought a sketch book + crayons for my then 8 month old Bean (she is five now).
And although she started by eating the crayons instead of using them, the kids have been surrounded by 'art' since they were babies.
Just recently we picked up an old school desk + placed it in a corner of our lounge room. It is out of the way + in a place that is not noticeable straight away.
AND this is very important, because if Mr Mac saw that mess every time he entered the room it wouldn't work. It would drive him INSANE! (Me too probably).
Once a week they have to tidy it up, but other than that this is their creative space, to draw, glue, cut and colour. I don't even care if that there is marker + stickers on the surface. This is their space + they feel safe to create anything there.
If you don't have space for a desk - what about a draw, shelf or box?
☆ CREATE WITH YOUR KIDS
This year I started creating with my kids.
I feel it is important for them to see me create, and create with me, so that being an artist isn't something that is mystery, or that only Mama can do.
So once every couple of weeks, we sit down together and do a project.
There are so many resources out there to be creative with your kids. Pinterest is on of the websites I go to often, but I will also google 'creative lessons for kids' and see what takes my fancy.
They are short lessons, cause lets face it a 3 + 5 year old have very short attention spans, but they ended up surprising me with their enthusiasm + dedication to the lesson. You can read more here + here
Don't worry about not being perfect. No one is perfect + it is great for your kids to see you mess up too!
☆ SKETCH BOOKS ARE AWESOME!
This is my very best tip + I wish I had stock in the sketchbook company because I buy so many!
We have sketchbooks everywhere. In their bedroom, in the car, in my hand bag, on their art desk, in my studio…
And there are two reasons I love sketchbooks. One, because I don't have thousands of pieces of paper, with their masterpieces strewn around the house. OH it would drive me absolutely bonkers!
And when they come home from school or playgroup with their masterpieces I can be stick these straight into their sketch books. All their art is contained in one spot.
You can easily store these, so that they have a record of how creative they were when they were little.
You can easily store these, so that they have a record of how creative they were when they were little.
Bonus! They are so portable. Going to the doctors? On a long trip? Waiting for Dance class to finish? No Problem - we grab a few pencils + a sketch book and they are entertained…at least for a wee while!
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How do you nurture creativity with in your home? I would love to hear your stories. And if you have any questions about any of these just email me - I am more than happy to help out! Keep reading below to see how other parents nurture creativity in the home for more great ideas.
By the way - have you had a chance to enter this months give away? It is free to enter and super easy to do so!
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- exclusive access to a private Facebook group for creative mothers - a vibrant greetings card and book-mark of one of the author's paintings. Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble or order it from your local bookshop! |
Lilly Higgins is a passionate food writer. Now a mother of two boys, she's discovered a new calling: to instil in them a love of food and creativity in the kitchen.
DeAnna L'am shares how visioning the New Year with your child is an invitation to be inspired: use creativity and resolutions to create a fun road map for the year ahead.
Molly at Talk Birth on Releasing Our Butterflies - balancing motherhood with creativity.
Laura shares some of the creativity happening at Nestled Under Rainbows and a few thoughts about creativity.
Georgie at Visual Toast celebrates her own unique culture of creativity at home.
Esther at Nurtureworkshop spreads the love of the ordinary, the delights of everyday things that can be an adventure of the imagination.
For Dawn at The Barefoot Home creativity is always a free form expression to be shared by all in a supportive environment where anything can be an art material.
Naomi at Poetic Aperture is a mother, artist and photographer who tries to keep her daughter away from the expensive pens and paints.
Aimee at Creativeflutters writes about keeping your sanity and creativity intact with small kids in the house in her post: Mother + Creativity - They Must Coexist.
Amelia at My Grandest Adventure embarks on a 30 Days of Creativity challenge...you can too!
Becky at Raising Loveliness explores creating with her smaller family members.
Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine reveals how children help us connect to our souls, through music and movement.
Mary at The Turquoise Paintbrush shares her experiences of creating with kids.
Brooke at violicious spent too much time worrying and trying to be creative instead of letting it flow.
Joanna at Musings of a Hostage Mother explains why creativity at home is important to her in her post "I nurture a creative culture."
On womansart blog this week - nurturing a creative culture at home.
Creative woman at Creator's Corner loves color and uses it to paint, draw and decorate to inspire herself and her family.
It took until Amy at Mama Dynamite was pregnant aged 35 to discover her dormant creative streak - she has found lovely ways of tuning into it every since.
Anna of ArtBuds is a trained educator and art therapist. She has been creating all her life and nurturing her daughter's creativity at home is a priority.
Deb at Debalicious shares how her family enjoy creativity at home.
Emily at The Nest explores how creativity runs through her family's life together.
Jennifer at OurMuddyBoots sees that encouraging creativity in children is as simple as appreciating them for who they are: it just means overriding everything we know!
Lisa from Mama.ie has discovered that a combination of writing and traditional crafts can provide a creative outlet during those busy early years of new motherhood.
Anna at Biromums shares what nurturing a culture of creativity means to her.
Zoie at TouchstoneZ argues that the less they are interfered with, the more creative children become as they grow up.
Darcel at The Mahogany Way celebrates creating with her kids.
Molly at MollyLollyLoo explores her family's shared creative times.
Liz at Reckless Knitting shares how she celebrates creativity with her family.
Sally (aka The Ginger Ninja) of The Ginger Chronicles is continually inspired by her own mum and grandmother.
Just being creative is enough, says Nicki at Just Like Play, as she ponders her journey of nurturing a creative family.
Allurynn shares her creative family's musings in her post "Creativity... at the Heart of it" on Moonlight Muse.
Laura at Authentic Parenting explores how being creative saves her sanity.
Mama is Inspired talks about how she puts an emphasis on the handmade in her home, especially in the holiday season.
Kirstin at Listen to the Squeak shares with you several easy ways for busy mamas and dads to encourage their children to be creative every day.
Chiswick Mum believes that a healthy dose of chaos is the secret to nurturing creativity at home.
Mila at Art Play Day always lived in her dreams, sleepwalking through life ... now she is finding out what creativity is all about.... her inner child!
Sadhbh at Where Wishes Come From describes how picture books can nurture creativity in young children.
OH how I LOVE your post! All the ideas - the pirate costumes are just TOO cute. And the dedicated creative table is something that Laura at Nestled Under Rainbows also has... I've just never figured out where to fit one into our home - so we have a couple of drawers next to the kitchen table - but that means the kitchen table is always under a deluge of cereal boxes, pens, sellotape and toilet rolls!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the banner you made too - thank you so much for going to such effort with your fabulous post!
I never thought about a sketch book for Eartha... I have them my self fo jottings and scribbles but I'm going to make her one now too! Great post - thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me to get new books, we use scrapbooks for sticking things in (I also go spare from paper being everywhere) which are full to the brim, it's a very important tip. I enjoyed this and your own artwork is amazing.
ReplyDelete