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Growing your garden

Growing your garden. Cultivating Your Child’s Creativity Presented by: Janet Fraser Elementary GATES Resource Teacher. Oldham County Schools’ 21 st Century Goals. Why FOCUS on creativity?.

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Growing your garden

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  1. Growing your garden Cultivating Your Child’s Creativity Presented by: Janet Fraser Elementary GATES Resource Teacher

  2. Oldham County Schools’ 21st Century Goals

  3. Why FOCUS on creativity? Through encouragement children who engage in creative activities will more likely learn to develop new ways of… approaching problems exploring possible solutions discovering innovative solutions And ultimately become…. SELF-REGULATED LEARNERS!

  4. What Creativity is (or is not) • It is not necessarily artistic ability • It is “out of the box” thinking…in fact, many truly creative people don’t even realize there is a box! • It involves adaptability and flexibility of thought • It is divergent thinking…planting one seed and watching it grow, propagate, spread. • It is about having a questioning mind, an exploring mind, and a mind that embraces imagination and new ideas • It can grow with practice and training

  5. The most powerful way to develop creativity is to be a role model. Children will develop creativity not when you tell them to, but when you show them. ~Robert Sternberg

  6. Gardening tip #1 Give your child TIME to be creative

  7. Gardening Tip #2 Give your child S P A C E don’t hover!

  8. Gardening Tip #3 Withhold judgment of your child’s creative work. Do not evaluate them. Otherwise, they may always try to meet your standard; strive for what you want instead of being who they are. It also creates “PRAISE JUNKIES”.

  9. Gardening Tip #4 ENCOURAGE FLEXIBILITY… We parent for efficiency—not creativity. Kids need the chance to do things more than one right way…OUR way. As long as the end goal is met, why not allow kids to get to it the way they like?

  10. Gardening Tip #4 ENCOURAGE FLEXIBILITY…continued New Perspective: Problems = Opportunities We always have more choices than we think we have! A couple of caveats: Only those with the problem are motivated to solve it. A Problem is only a problem when it is a problem.

  11. Gardening Tip #5 BEWARE OF REWARDING CREATIVE EFFORTS • Rewards can undermine a child’s natural intrinsic motivation. • They impose on the child your expectations and values. • Creative ideas often take time to develop and refine. Delayed gratification teaches a child that hard work is worth the effort. Good things are worth the wait. • Encourage and value the creative process rather than the product.

  12. Ways to Grow Your Garden Set up your environment so it is conducive for creativity. • Plenty of scraps…cloth, string, cardboard, variety of paper, yarn, different kinds of artistic supplies (glue, markers, crayons, paint, glitter, clay, buttons, etc.) • Things to sculpt with: play-doh, Sculpey, goop, shaving cream, etc. • Choose toys that may be used in a variety of ways (blocks, Legos, dress-up clothes, puppets, magnets, boards, tarps, ropes, belts, that sort of thing) Make things available and easily accessible so kids can use them whenever they want. Don’t fuss at the kids for making messes! Remember…Problem = Opportunity Be a good audience. Value the process.

  13. Ways to Grow Your Garden • Children piggyback off of concrete experiences… ~something they see like a play/musical/movie ~a place they go like a museum, zoo, park, ~books they read ~foods they try ~cultural events ~trips they take ~people they observe So, think about things you can do, places you can go that are different, interesting, new…exposure.

  14. Ways to Grow Your Garden Ask questions that nurture creativity: • What would happen if…? • All the cars were gone • Everyone wore the same clothes • The only facial expression was a smile • How is a___ like a ____? • Pencil like a plant • Pillow like a box • In how many different ways…? • Can a button be used • Could you get your clothes into the hamper • Can you open the car door without touching it

  15. More questions that spark creativity: • In what ways is magic like a feather? • Which is softer: yellow or a puppy? Why? • If you were an ant, what might small mean to you? • How can you exercise a dog on a rainy day? • What can you do if you forget your homework? • What are all the sources of light? • Think of all the things that can be caught? • What are all the ways you can show someone you care about them? • What are all the ways you can pop a balloon? • The answer is cold…what are the questions? • What are titles for a book about chocolate?

  16. FFOE of Creativity FLUENCY: Many Ideas…brainstorming FLEXIBILITY: Looking at things in a different way Seeing different perspectives Shifting thought processes Combining or adapting unlikely things ORIGINALITY: One-of-a-kind, unique Ideas ELABORATION: Expanding ideas Stretching existing knowledge Digging deeper

  17. Final Thoughts~ Be Playful Laugh RelaxFind humor in life Let your kids see you wonder Take time to ponder…everything doesn’t need an immediate answer. Give Your Kids the gift of TIME~~~~~~~ Time alone Time to think Time to ponder Time to wonder

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