od does this music create, what kind of story does this music tell?
5. Play a piece of music, and have your child paint a picture that shows the mo
od this music creates, or tells the story this music is telling.
6. When your child comes up with a story in one of the previous activities, ask
your child to change the story in order to change the mood. For example, if the
story is sad - can he change the story to be happy? Can he change it to be a my
stery? Can he change it to be a comedy, or a funny story?
7. When reading a book with your child, always ask open ended and thought provo
king questions like: How would you handle this situation? What could the charact
er do differently? How do you think did the character feel?
8. Print several pictures on paper. (You can use cardboard if you'd like to mak
e the pieces more durable). Cut each picture into 9 parts (or more, if you want
to make this game more complex). Now let your child put the pictures back togeth
er. After putting all pieces back together into the original pictures, you can m
ix the pieces, so that your child can create new pictures, combining pieces from
different pictures. Start with two pictures mixed together,and advance to more
and more pictures. Start with bigger pieces, cutting the picture into 4 parts on
ly, and advance to smaller and smaller pieces, cutting the picture into more and
more pieces. Also, use more and more complicated pictures, that include more de
tails.
9. Play "pretend" games with your child often, or use "role playing" with your
child. When you read a story, ask your child to play the role of his favorite ch
aracter.
10. When your child has friends visiting, have them come up with a short play an
d perform it for the parents. This is always a fun activity for the children, an
d it also keeps them very busy.
11. Encourage your child to paint a picture of an object. Then have him paint it
in different colors. For example, ask your child to paint or draw a bunch of fr
uit. Then have him change the colors of all the fruit. Have a red banana, yellow
apple and so forth.
12. Choose a day a week, and have all family members do their routine activities
in a different way. For example, brush their teeth in a different way than usua
l. Take a different way to school. Sing instead of talking. Get up earlier, and
and play a new game. Walk backwards... Be creative, and encourage your child to
be creative too.
13. Don't ever discourage your child from using his imagination. If your child t
ells an imaginary story, always praise him and acknowledge the creativity. If yo
ur child comes up with an original answer to a question, even if the answer is i
ncorrect, acknowledge creative thinking.
14. Keep your eyes open for any signs of creativity and originality. Always prai
se and encourage these traits.
Have fun, and enjoy! To your child's creativity!