I wrote a post awhile ago about promoting creativity at home with simple items that everyone has around the house. Our favourite things to use are old cereal boxes, scissors, tape & twistables. My creativity post received such a positive response so I’ve decided to share more about my creative kids! Here are the things we created last week:
My boys, aged 8 & nearly 6 made these keys from a cereal box & paper clips. They made the keys themselves & I helped twist the paperclips. I love to see them get creative & come up with new ideas of things to make. Making the keys was fun but playing games with the finished keys was even more fun!
Our latest creative adventure was making rock pets. I have a little pet rock my grandfather made. It used to sit in his house. When I was little, I made a pet rock & posted it to my grandfather, to be a friend for his pet. A few weeks later, a small package arrived for me with my grandfather’s pet inside. He sat on my window sill as a child, then moved with me to every apartment I have lived in & now he sits on the window sill in our house. This is him:
My sons asked if they could make their own pet rocks & I said, of course! So they selected the perfect rocks & we got down to work. The kiddies decided what decoration they wanted on their rocks & I helped glue the pieces on. Tip: Use a straw to hold down little pieces so you don’t glue your fingers together (I’m notorious for getting more glue on me than the project).
Each kiddie decided what they wanted to make by what they thought their rock shape resembled. We had googly eyes, pipe cleaners & small red pom poms left over from last year’s Christmas crafts. I also used permanent marker & super glue. The finished products are a snail on a sled, a rock Rudolph the red nose reindeer & a rock Santa in his sleigh. They thoroughly enjoyed making their pets & then spent an hour playing games with them. They are now proudly displayed in their bedroom.
Our 2-year-old daughter is really great at playing games with her brothers now that her speech has improved. It’s so nice to watch her play! She can play imaginative games, board games & all sorts of games with toys. Their favorite game this week was a farm set up that covered their entire bedroom. They each had their own farm with intricate details. As you can see below, shoe boxes make excellent sheds.
I was invited to come play farm game & they made me my own set up in a corner of the room. An hour of play went by as if it was five minutes. There’s nothing like imaginative & creative play! I think it broadens children’s minds & is a wonderful bonding experience for me to play with them.
What creative adventures did you get up to with your kids?
