Creative Children And Technology Can Coexist

Apr 25, 2011 by Nicole Dean

Take a stroll through any toy store and you will be bombarded with walls and walls of toys that are just plain LOUD. These toys all require batteries, most have blinding, pulsating lights, some have well-known characters molded or stamped into them, and they all assault the senses and seem to turn our little ones into mindless zombies.

Will all this technology interfere with your choice to raise your children with a little curiosity and imagination? Not if you surround your family with old fashioned games and toys. It’s up to you to feed your children a balanced diet of technology and creativity. Here we go with just a few examples of old fashioned fun.

Reading Material - A home full of books is a home full of interesting people. Your home should have bookshelves filled with both fiction and non-fiction reading materials. Kids should have a wide variety of choices so they don’t tire of the same types of stories or information. In homes where there are pre-school age children, we often find a lack of non-fiction books, opting for more storybook-style reading. But, even pre-school age children want to discover the world they live in. In addition, your children will learn about using non-fiction books as resources when they are in the higher grades in school. Having a nice assortment of fiction books on the shelves provides the child who is not eager to read, an opportunity to become interested in the escape or fantasy of the story long enough to get hooked because they find out reading is fun.

Blocks and Legos – Sit down with your child and a box of blocks or plastic snap together toys, and you could be watching your child play for hours. A child’s imagination really kicks in when they are faced with all the choices in front of them. Your child can play for hours building towers, bridges, cities, creatures, and more with these toys that inspire creativity, patience, and improve small-motor skills. You may want to join in as your child grabs a few small cars to drive around the new city. Ask your child to name the city and share with you some of what happens there, where it’s located on the map, and who lives there. When the masterpiece is finished, you’ll be able to share in your child’s delight as the structure falls victim to a giant monster, your child, smashing through the blocks.

Art Corner – Children are intrigued with their own creativity and every child loves to show off their artwork. Providing your child with enough paper, crayons, paint, and glue to keep them busy and happy for hours will produce a lot of artwork, yes, but it also provides your youngster an opportunity to sit quietly and use their imagination. Set up a place for artwork, with all the tools your child needs, and you’ll be encouraging not only an interest in art, but a place to express their ideas and thoughts. Old magazines and junk mail are great ways to provide your child with material that’s inexpensive and fun for any cutting and pasting project. Freezer paper is another inexpensive way to make sure your children never run out of coloring and painting surfaces. Coloring books are a nice way to get your younger child interested in art, but free-form drawing and coloring really sets their imaginations free. Be sure to SUPERVISE your child closely when using scissors, paint, or glue. Accidents happen, and sometimes our younger children don’t realize what feeding the dog a glue treat can do to their tummy.

Felt Story Boards – Telling stories is another way for children to use their imagination and creativity. A story board is easy to set up and use, even for the youngest storyteller. You’ll begin by making or buying a board. To make your own board you’ll need a large sheet of felt attached to a sturdy surface, like a painter’s easel or even a wall. You’ll find felt at craft or fabric stores. Buy a nice supply of colorful felt to be cut up into basic shapes for the younger child and more sophisticated props for the older child. A very young child will amaze you with their ability to create objects with just a few basic shapes. Have them tell you a story about each creation, as you may not realize what it is until they tell you! Your older child can research characters and props by looking through books and magazines. Encourage your child to not only design the characters and the settings, but to tell you the story, act by act.

Music - Playing instruments and singing are two excellent ways to develop your child’s imagination. Creating instruments out of ordinary household items is a fun and interesting way for your child to learn about where music comes from and have a good time, too. Grab some cardboard rolls left over from the paper towels, punch a few holes in, and your child can pretend they’re playing in a band. Some beads in an old cereal container can produce music to march to. A little sandpaper taped to two wooden blocks make a delightfully musical sound when rubbed together. If your family has access to actual musical instruments, it’s a good time to introduce them to how musical notes look. Get out some old sheet music or songbooks and have your child move their voice up and down like the notes are going. Even a walk in the woods can produce a musical learning experience!

Pretend Dress-Up – Pull out a big box of dress-up clothes, and your child’s imagination will kick into full swing. Fill that box with discarded frilly dresses, fancy shoes, goofy blazers, and silly ties, and let the fun begin. If your closets are not full of this stuff, you may want to give the second-hand stores a look. I’ve found the more garish the clothes, the cheaper they get. And the gaudier they are for the kids, the better they like them. Watch after Halloween for the lowest prices and purchase a few costumes for your dress-up bin. When your children start throwing themselves into dressing-up, the stories of who they are and what they’re doing start to develop, usually turning into a production of sorts in which you, the audience, is now invited to attend. Enjoy the show!

Doll-houses – There is something very enduring about a child making up their own little stories as they move their dolls around inside a doll house. It’s so precious to see them play-act all the parts of the family members and it’s interesting to hear their view of the world through their dolls. Decorating your dollhouse is also an added benefit and creates a whole other method for sparking imagination. Using some wallpaper scraps, carpet remnants, bits of lace, or any other craft item you have laying around, your child can imagine the doll family fixing up their house just like you do yours. This fun could provide your family with an heirloom if you put enough love into it.

Puppet Shows – Turn your mismatched socks into hand puppets. You’ll need some markers and some scraps of fabric for hair, hats, or whatever you want to add. You could also use paper bags, cloth, felt or even make little puppets out of popsicle sticks. One fun trick is to take an old glove, cut all the fingers off the glove, and turn each finger into a little puppet. Then, you put the completed finger puppet on your fingers and you have a whole family of puppets right there together. Help your child create a theater for their puppet show and relax and watch the crazy fun begin!

In the Kitchen – Kids love to play in the kitchen, usually right under your feet. So, why not make that fun creative? While you’re mixing and pouring, give your child the same “pretend tasks” to do. Bubbles are a great way to entertain children, and the fun lasts long enough usually for their fingers to get all pruny. Just a couple plastic bowls of bubbles and a few plastic utensils will keep a young child occupied and fascinated for a long time. Another fun food choice is puffed rice cereal. Again, just some plastic bowls and utensils on the kitchen floor, and your child is creating a masterpiece of a meal in their mind. You’ll just need to plan on clean up afterwards as this will create quite a wonderful mess!

Your imagination as a parent is what will help your child develop their own imagination. When you create an environment for exploring the world, you are giving your child an opportunity to use their mind. Technology will always be there, but a child’s imagination is a changing and growing thing. You’re making it possible for your child to soar!

Nicole Dean is a work at home mom of two and owner of http://ShowKidstheFun.com which specializes in quality family time. If you’re looking for a way to earn money from home, she recommends ShowMOMtheMoney.com providing work at home info since 2004.