Encouraging creativity is really important to us at Inspirations, and this is evident in our Baby Rooms right up to when they leave us in Pre-school. It’s also a great way to keep them busy and stimulate their curiosity and development at home, and it doesn’t always have cost money or run the risk of staining carpets.

So here’s a quick run down of 5 easy ways to encourage creativity at home-

Encourage Role Play
Toddlers love to imitate and explore other people. Encouraging role play can help your child develop their social skills, language, and creativity. Why not bring to life the characters from their favourite book? Provide props and dress-up clothes, and let your child take on different roles. You could even set up a pretend play area on theme. Remember, children have huge imaginations, you can simply provide tea towels, woolly hats, towels or just simple a change in voices.

Provide Open-Ended Materials
Have you been to SCRAP in Farsley? Scrap is an emporium of amazing resources diverted from landfill for art, play and education. Children love exploring and experimenting with different materials. Providing them with open-ended materials such as play dough, boxes, crayons, material and tubes can allow them to express their creativity and imagination in their own unique way. Give them a piece of packaging, ask them what they could do with it, or lay down textures material and walk over it with bare feet. Maybe you could use an old shelf as a car ramp?

Engage in Artistic Activities Together
Set aside some time each week to engage in a creative activity together, such as painting, drawing, or making a collage. Not only will this help foster your child’s creativity, but it will also create special memories for both of you. Simply save some cardboard from your next delivery and let that be your canvas. Take it in the garden if you’re worried about mess.

Follow Their Lead
Young children are naturally curious and have their own unique interests. Follow their lead and provide opportunities for them to explore their passions. For example, if your child shows an interest in birds, buy some binoculars, go to the library and find some wildlife books. Book a trip to a bird sanctuary, make some bird food, print some pictures to take a closer look. If they’re interested in flowers why not go for a nature walk and bring back some natural resources for them to explore when home, flowers for the mud kitchen, pinecones to make pinecone pies.

Create a Safe Space for Movement
Messy play, movement and den building is a great way for toddlers to engage with their senses and explore their world. Use an old table cloth or shower curtain as a stage to create a show with singing or movement. Or why not provide some bed sheets and sofa cushions to make a den.

So there you have it 5 simple ways to encourage creativity in your home. Make use of old boxes and packaging, there are so many house hold objects that can be used in many different ways. Don’t forget to ask open ended questions along the way, and let us know if you try any of these at home.

-Nathalie