Drink wine AND boost your child’s creativity!

A Woman Less Ordinary - 6 Jan 18

All kids like to tinker, invent and reinvent.  Kids are like scientists really.  Think of the various toys your kid has broken (or modified if you’re in a more generous mood).  Of if they haven’t taken anything apart, they may still enjoy using toys in unusual ways.

My almost 5 year old son loves to take things apart and use the pieces for different games and inventions.  He breaks thing down into their smallest (usually fixable) parts, such as the tyres from toy cars or the hair off his Playmobil people.  In response to this need to invent and reinvent, we started what we call the Bits and Pieces box.  It is full of everyday household items that my son likes to stick together, rearrange, break apart, colour in and so on.  The beauty of it is that I don’t get upset that more expensive toys are getting broken and my son develops his creativity.  As soon as something has outlived its purpose, it goes in the trash.  (Please use your judgment if you have a child under 3: many of these are small or may fragment into small parts.)

This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope gives you some ideas.  My son is also a huge fan of cardboard boxes, many of which have been embellished with items from his Bits and Pieces box.  When he is old enough, I will introduce him to soldering and electronics too.

If you’re not a teacher, let me very briefly introduce you to Bloom’s taxonomy. It outlines how not all learning is equal – the higher the skill is on the pyramid, the deeper the learning.  Creating something new is the absolutely best, deepest way of learning:

In contrast, a kid repeating their favourite scene from a TV show with toys is remembering, applying and understanding.  There’s room for both, but using creativity is important.

Start collecting those wine bottle corks today AND help your kid develop their creativity too.  It’s win – win!

A Woman Less Ordinary lives, parents, purchases and thinks differently.  With 10 years of teaching experience, she has many effective techniques for managing kids’ behaviour (and a lot to say about finance if you’re interested) BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANY OF IT!

A Woman Less Ordinary

A Woman Less Ordinary lives, parents, purchases and thinks differently. With 10 years of teaching experience, she has many effective techniques for managing kids’ behaviour (and a lot to say about finance if you’re interested) BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANY OF IT!

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