"The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. Artists play with color and space. Musicians play with sound and silence. Children play with everything they can get their hands on."
Stephen Nachmanovitch, "Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art," 1990

As adults, we often have a hard time encouraging creative expression in children - maybe because we don't feel creative ourselves, or perhaps we don't understand and appreciate the lifelong benefits it offers our children.

Creativity means having the ability to express ourselves in our own unique way. Children are naturally creative. Their view of the world is fresh and original! It is our responsibility as parents and caregivers to nurture and foster this undeveloped talent.

There are four main areas in which children can express creativity:

• Art (expressing thoughts and feelings visually with crayons, paint, scissors, etc.)
  
• Language (expressing thoughts and feelings with written or verbal words)
  
• Music (expressing thoughts and feelings with physical movements, like dancing, singing, playing instruments, etc.)
  
• Fantasy (expressing thoughts and feelings through pretend like playing make-believe, creating imaginary friends, reading, etc.)
  

Creativity provides children with:

• Intellectual growth (that's why children ask all those questions!)
  
• The opportunity to explore their world
  
• A sense of self-worth and pride
  
• Exercise (which, in turn, stimulates physical growth)
  
• Opportunities to grow socially
  

When encouraging creativity in young children, it is important to remember it is the process, not the product, which is most important. "Playing is a kind of experimentation, a way of stretching the boundaries without thinking about either rewards or punishments," says Ruth Shagoury Hubbard in "A Workshop of the Possible" (Stenhouse Publishers, 1996). "The pleasure of the doing itself – the process – is the goal when we play."

The world in which our children will live, work, and raise families will certainly be different than ours. Change is inevitable. But if we can equip them now with the keys to think creatively, and to deal with new situations and new people, then they will have the knowledge, capabilities, and confidence to improvise and adapt to whatever their futures might bring.

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