Creative Activities

by Valerie Nelson | More from this Blogger

Asset number 17 involves the creative use of time. According to the Search Institute, "Most children don't decide how they spend their time-they need adults to choose and create activities for them. With encouragement and support from parents and other caring people, children can enjoy fun, meaningful activities that help them become caring, creative, confident adults."

Even adults who do not have an artsy bone in their body can help children tune into their creative side by playing different types of music at different times of the day. Choices could include classical, soft rock, jazz and if you like living on the edge-country music. You can also display your child's artwork on the refrigerator or other prominent spot in the house. Provide different kinds of materials for young people to experiment with. Use sidewalk chalk to play tic-tac-toe and then draw a picture with your child. Keep scraps of materials that you could potentially use on a rainy day to make a sock puppet or do some type of impromptu craft.

Don't be too alarmed by this particular asset if you are not a crafty type person like myself. I was called upon to help at the school for a special event day that had a lot of craft oriented projects. I wanted to be there to support my child and the other students, but did not want to disappoint the children with my two left hands (ok- and look like a dork in front of the other mom's). Fortunately, I was given a job of gluing. Glue I can do!

Let your child follow his or her interests and choose if he or she will play a musical instrument, take a dance class or write. Help them pursue their interests by signing them up for age appropriate classes if you are unable to "Coach" them in a particular area.

Make arts part of your everyday life. Turn on the classical music while sharing a meal together. Look for free or low cost events at your communities cultural centers. This month we will be attending one of the local art institutes for free when they have an open house, which is sponsored, by one of the large manufacturing companies in the area making it free for us. Later this year we will have an opportunity to attend the symphony at very little cost because they offer low cost tickets for early Saturday shows. These types of activities are great for a single parent family on a strict budget.

Be sure to attend your children's productions together. It means a lot to children of all ages to have your support.

Learn more about Valerie Nelson

Valerie is a Families.com blogger, freelance writer and small business owner. Valerie helps non-profit organizations with fundraising through grant development for their programs and projects.

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