How to Encourage Your Kids' Creativity Through Open-Ended Play

There are many skills that young children learn in daycare and school, but unfortunately, creativity isn’t necessarily overly emphasized in institutional learning. If you think your child could use a little boost in that direction, create an environment where their creativity can flourish through open-ended play.

Art Supplies

Start with an art box filled with creative supplies. Forgo the coloring books and instead stock it with blank paper of different colors, textures and sizes. You know those annoying little “free” notepads and return address labels you get from certain charities hoping to guilt you into sending a donation? Put those in the box. Include water paint and markers. Don’t forget crayons and pencils to help young children practice their fine-motor grip. Old magazines, safety scissors, yarn and fleece fabric are all great materials for making collages and costumes.

Dress-Up Box

Speaking of costumes, don’t forget a dress-up box. Children’s costumes are expensive, so garage sales and after-Halloween sales are great places to get princess dresses and fireman coats for less. An even better way to encourage creative play is to stock the dress-up box with scarves, hats and yards of different types of fun fabric which can be found in the remnant bin of any craft or fabric store. Big pieces of sheer fabric and a tub of wooden clothespins is a great way to help young minds create. The fabric can be clipped around the room to make tents, around the shoulders for capes and around waists for dresses. Kids love the flowy nature of sheer fabric, and it’s safer to wear over their heads because it’s see-through.

Creative Writing

Because your kids will have so much fun in their homemade costumes, encourage them to write their own plays or to act out their favorite scenes from movies or books. One easy way for kids to “stage” their story is to have your child tell you a story that you write down. Then read the story back and let your children act out the parts. Remember, it doesn’t have to make sense in the classic way. For example, your son might tell a nonsensical story about a fish and a dog eating ice cream. Your son can be the dog and your daughter can be the fish. Let them choose appropriate costumes from the dress-up box and then act out the “story” as you read. As your children age, their story telling will no doubt get more sophisticated.

Creative Movement

Create a playlist of several different genres of music including opera, symphony, reggae, country, hip-hop, etc. and have a dance party. Play a snippet of music and ask your child to dance or act out the emotion in that piece of music. Another option is to have them pretend to be an animal that the music reminds them of. There is no right or wrong answer in open-ended play. It’s all about moving and the act of creation.

Outdoor Games

When you’re tired of being cooped up, take it outdoors. Even if you live in a concrete jungle, you can still go on an investigation walk. One fun game is to pretend that you are detectives and that things you find on the sidewalk are clues. The penny, leaf, stick and dry-cleaning ticket don’t have to add up to a real solved mystery, but your kids will enjoy the process of imagining what the clues might mean. You can name your case before you head out such things as “The Case of the Missing Bunny Rabbit” or “The Legend of Yellow Ghost Car.” Again, it doesn’t really matter if it makes total sense. It’s all about getting your child’s creative brain engaged.

Open-ended creative play is an extremely important concept in child development. Children spend so much time in front of screens and doing work that has only one right answer that creativity is sometimes given short shrift. Encourage your children to explore their creativity through lots of opportunities to “make it up” as they go along.