Easy Creativity For Kids 7 simple (and fun!) ways to sneak creativity in every day ©2013, 2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Intro… I’m in love with kids and their natural tendency toward creativity. It’s really not hard to foster that creativity in them and maybe tap into your own along the way. These are some ideas I came up with to practice whenever you have an extra moment or two and soon you’ll be walking around everywhere wide- eyed and crazy-looking (but thinking creative thoughts!)
Design-Thinking Peruse your pantry: Look at the labels on your foods with your kids and pick out your favorites; your least favorites. What would you change about a certain label? Would the picture be different? The writing bigger? Are the colors good for that jelly label? Take this one step further and redesign a label for something (or everything!) in your pantry. ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com See our Graphic Design For Kids Project: Redesigning a LabelRedesigning a Label
Describing When you are out in a crowd with your kids, take turns describing a person you see- in complete detail. Don’t forget colors, shapes, movements, accessories. Be as descriptive as you can. You can turn it into a game by trying to guess who the other person is describing. If there aren’t many people around, you can try this with objects: mailboxes, buildings, cars, etc. ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Tree-Gazing Sometimes when you look at trees, their leaves appear darker against lighter objects and lighter against darker objects. Cool, right? Looking for this sort of thing will help train the eye to notice how light and color affect how we see items. (See next page for an example) ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Tree-Gazing ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Paper and Markers This is one of my favorite tips ever: leave a nice stack of printer paper out at all times. Make sure you have a few pencils or markers near it. By placing a marker diagonally across the top of the stack, you are setting a scene your children will find impossible to resist. ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
What Animal Are You? This is a fun, creative game- talk about which animal each of your family members/friends would be if they suddenly transformed. Base this on visual features/mannerisms/actions. This gets your kids thinking and comparing visually. Plus, there are bound to be some giggles. ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Beautiful Produce The next time you are frazzled with your kids at the grocery store, step into the produce section and take in all the colors. Talk about the different colors, shades, shapes of the fruits and veggies. Check out that star fruit! Aren’t avocados weird and bumpy? Carrots have long, green, rock star hair! ©2013,2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com
Colorful Wardrobe Work with your kids to pick out clothes for the day that are either: Complementary (red with green, yellow with purple, orange with blue.) Different shades of the same color Black and White Talk about why they chose their colors and how they feel wearing them. ©2013, 2014 TinyRottenPeanuts.com TinyRottenPeanuts.com