November 14, 2023

4 Activities to Nurture Creativity In Your Children

It’s perfectly normal to wonder how you can aid your child’s development as they grow. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways you can do that, and one of the best options available to you is creative play. 

This is because having creative experiences can help a child grow emotionally, socially, intellectually, and even physically. In fact, this is also why a lot of schools support creative learning now! 

Intellectual benefits 
Creative play helps develop basic Math skills, including basic geometry, shapes, measuring, and sorting. It can also hone their focus as well as the ability to problem-solve issues they may run into in play, like whether or not glue can hold together something they’re constructing.

Physical benefits 
Creative learning activities also develop a child’s fine motor skills, coordination, and control as they use their fingers to cut, paint, draw and paste. This can even help them become writing-ready!

Emotional and social benefits 
Creative activities provide a positive outlet to express emotions so the kids can learn how to communicate beyond verbalisation. Some creative play even helps with self-regulation skills. For example, we teach them the art of patience by waiting for the paint to dry.

Self-esteem building
Arts and crafts can also give your child a sense of achievement and promote pride in their work, which in turn builds self-confidence. It’s also a great way for your child to discover that it’s okay to make mistakes, and that even mistakes can lead to new discoveries!

4 Creative Activities with Benefits for Children

1. Oil pastel painting 

This is a great activity that quieter, more artistically inclined children will love in particular. Plus, it’s pretty much a gateway to many other types of painting!

Things you’ll need: 

• Drawing paper
• Oil pastels 
• Baby oil 
• Cotton buds 

What to do:

1. On a drawing paper, let your children draw their favourite things with the oil pastels. Ensure that they fill them in with colour. Even if they look like they’re just scribbling, let them – their imagination will lead them.
2. Once done, smear some baby oil on the painting with a cotton bud and use the oil to blend different colours on the painting. If your child is old enough, you can even get him/her to help you blend the shades!

2. Raised salt painting 

Think of this creative activity as diamond painting, but with salt! Aside from stimulating your child visually, it adds tactile stimuli through the texture of the salt, which can add a new dimension of interest for kids.

Things you’ll need: 

• Food colouring 
• Glue
• Drawing paper
• Paper plates
• Pencil, and of course
• Epsom salt

What to do:

1. To make your coloured salt, add a few drops of food dye to Epsom salt on a paper plate, then mix. You can repeat this process depending on how many colours your child wants, using new batches of salt each time. 
2. Let your little artist draw shapes, scribbles, and patterns on the drawing paper.
3. Apply glue to the areas that you want to be covered with salt, then pour the coloured salt over the glued area. Wait to dry. 
4. You can also print a colouring sheet instead and use it as a guide. Apply different coloured salts to different areas.

3. Playdough modelling 

This learning activity is great for preschoolers as it’s easy and very simple to do. You can even provide them with just the playdough and let their imagination run wild! 

Things you’ll need:

• Playdough
• Playdough cutters or tools (optional)
• Playdough mats (optional)

What to do:

1. Give your child some playdough and let him/her make shapes out of it. You can sit next to your child to assist him/her, or let your child have fun making his/her own. 
2. Try using playdough cutters and playdough mats to make textures on his/her shapes! You can even offer (clean) biscuit cutters and use those to cut shapes out of a layer of playdough.

4. Water balloon painting 

This activity can get messy and wet, so it’s best to do it outdoors! Take note that this isn’t balloon splattering, by the way – instead, you’ll use the balloons as paintbrushes for a new sensory experience.

Things you’ll need:

• Water balloons
• Washable paint 
• Large paper roll or sheet

What to do: 

1. Begin by filling up some water balloons with water. (Try not to fill them up too full as you don’t want them to burst while painting with them!)
2. Lay the large sheet of paper down and secure the corners so the wind doesn’t blow the paper away. You can use books, rocks, shoes, etc. 
3. Dip the balloons in washable paint and let the kids use them as paintbrushes, rolling and dragging them over the paper to make shapes and patterns! 
4. Make sure to let the artwork dry before moving it!

Tips to Make Clean-up Easier

Kids love arts and crafts, so we’re sure they’ll have a good time with the activities we suggested. Be warned, though; there’s a very big chance that things may get messy! That’s why we have listed down some ways to have an easier time cleaning up after every arts and crafts session.

• Put an old sheet, old newspaper, or garbage bags underneath your activity area. Old shower curtains work well too!
• If you’re using your dining table, cover it with a vinyl tablecloth. You don’t want paint or scratches on your actual table’s surface. 
• Have towels, wipes, and tissues nearby to immediately clean messy hands and wipe up spills. Try to prepare wet wipes or a bowl of water just for cleaning!
• Dress your child (and yourself!) in clothes that you wouldn’t mind getting dirty or stained. You can also use aprons. 
• Ensure that they only stay within the designated play area. Otherwise, you’ll have more clean-up to do.

Unleash your child’s creativity with My Little Campus 

It has been said that creation is the highest form of learning. The earlier we expose our children to creative activities, the sooner they will be able to understand how to approach discovery and education in life. 

Plus, it does more than give them access to creative outlets good for their mental health. It can also support their emotional, physical, and social well-being. In fact, many skills relevant to their overall growth as confident learners and contributing members of society can be sharpened through creative activities. 

At My Little Campus, we emphasise the value of creativity in our programmes. If you want your child to be raised in a world where their creativity is given free rein, reach out to us. We offer comprehensive academic programmes for children aged 18 months to 6 years. Visit our website to learn more!