“Could this also be the basic design of a necklace as well as a tool to check a puppy’s heart?”
This week’s Mid-Week Focus features Creativity…
Q. How do we define it?
A. Simply stated, creativity is the ability to be inventive and imaginative.
Q. How can we light the fire of creativity in kids?
A. One answer is by asking questions. For example, as a young child role plays a veterinarian, ask if the shape of a stethoscope could also be the basic design of a necklace.
Asking questions jump-starts creative thinking.
Q. How can we use creativity to catch and keep children’s attention?
A. One answer is to begin school days pointing out the creative promise of each new day.
Model creativity for your class and embrace promise, by inviting students to glance out the classroom window and pause for a moment to consider what they might discover today. Teach children to spend more than a second looking at familiar places. Encourage them to look more carefully to find something new, something they haven’t seen before.
When children spend time with creative teachers they learn how to light their own fires of creativity.
Q. Why is it important to encourage creativity in students today?
A. Because to be inventive and imaginative is directly linked with critical thinking – a key skill in the Core Curriculum that has been adopted by most states in the US, and a
Students sit on inventive seats and work collaboratively on creative learning projects.
key to success anywhere in the world in the twenty-first century.
Q. How is creativity linked with our global economy?
A. More than one school of thought today focuses on the growing importance of creativity in education in a global economy. Employees who are capable of using their imaginations to think critically and collaborate on projects toward mutually agreed-to goals enjoy the most success on the job.
Lighting the fire of creativity in kids is an important investment in our students’ futures.
Check out comparative statistics for student achievement levels in different developed countries worldwide and you’ll likely find that science, technology, engineering and math currently take center stage.
Now look closer, as many respected educators have done, and you’ll find that this specific curriculum quartet comprises a set of tools – very important tools – but not the complete makings of positive end results for children in school today.
Along with science, technology, engineering (in the upper grades) and math, more and more educators encourage the inclusion of skill-building in the areas of critical thinking, the ability to communicate and the ability to work together on project development.
Lighting the fire of creativity is entertaining and attention-getting for K – 5 kids.
Spark your students’ creativity by asking them on a rainy day how you all might brighten up the classroom. Allow volunteers to suggest ideas and then offer a creative answer of your own by saying, “We’ll just have to make sunshine indoors today.”
Children will believe it’s possible to make sunshine. It’s easy to light the fire of creativity in kids because they thrive on imagination!
Please send comments on how you light the fire of creativity in your students.
Look for Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers on Monday.
Talk with you again soon,
Barbara ♥ The Lovable Poet
