Hi Folks
My son who is in year 7 does not seem to have much imaginative or creativity skills This is apparent when he is asked to write a fictional story using his imagination or design something in art lessons.
In what ways can I help to improve his skills in this area, so that he becomes more imaginative/creative/to think 'outside the box' and think for himself?
Thank You.
Thanks for your advice, mattee77.
Any further advice much appreciated.
Hi there
You mention that your son is good at maths so perhaps he has a logical, analytical mind rather than a creative, artistic one.
I think all we can do is encourage and nurture our children, recognize their strengths and weakness but not concentrate too much on the downside of it all. Praising their achievements is more important than highlighting their failures.
A warm loving environment with lots of stimulation through play is great, as is having lots of books around, I think a great read always feeds the imagination!
Hi there
Do you read to your son? If you do stop half way through the book and get him to imagine what is going to happen next - if he struggles then you should make something up and be silly.
Ask questions like
What would you have done?
What would you do?
What do you think will happen?
What if such and such was to happen?
Wouldn't it be funny if xxx happened?
If you are still looking then link to this for some input http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2013/creative-writing-magic-money-cards
Thanks pensive
As a creative person I used to get frustrated with people who are not. I now manage a team of very brainy engineers who in the traditional sense would not be considered creative. However they do, as you said, think outside the box. In fact they have collectively come up with some incredibly inventive solutions despite their apparent lack of creativity.
I've learned that creativity can take many forms and I guess it's all down to the individual. Maybe he will be a fantastic engineer when he's older!
But in more immediate terms, if I was in your position I would try this. Gather up some random items from around the house and set yourself an objective such as, you have to elevate a plastic cup at least 10 cm off the table for 1 minute without it falling over using only the items you have available to you. Make sure you can do it then present the same problem to your son. See how he tries to solve it. This requires the ability to think ahead and plan while thinking creatively about the problem. We use this a lot when recruiting young engineers into the business.
On top of that, ask him to draw you a machine which can do an array of strange tasks. For example, you want a machine which can wash the car, kill aliens, drive offroad and fly. See what he comes up with.
Maybe he lacks the confidence to show his creative side so encourage him to try and set an example by getting involved in these things yourself.
Thanks sleepyrascal
Hi their, you could try craft activities and feed these into story time.
I have just started a youtube channel to share what me and my kids do.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCihnTO0rPz4njKeF8f7Lmlw
The halloween decorations may be a great one to link to stories
At your child's age, I think arts and crafts activities will help them be more creative. Because Art is one of the only lessons that don't focus on following instructions. It is an imaginative form of expression. You can let your child draw pictures, make models, craft with household items, decorate for the holidays or a good idea is to play crosswords or sudoku, ...