Family efforts to be creative through the arts, writing , and other endeavours such as gardening or cooking enhance relationships between family members without having to be costly. Parents should encourage their children to be active in various creative mediums which engage their minds in the observation of colours, the feel of textures, thoughts of vocabulary, bodily movement, the sense of taste and the appreciation of sound. First and foremost, a creativity journal is utilized to keep track of artistic plans that are the focus of family collaboration. Parents make great coaches and stimulate academic and social success integrating three or more creative mediums along with journaling within the context of family social life.
I recall how my grandparents engaged me in writing letters which were sent and received through customary snail mail which is used less nowadays. Years later, several boxes were found in which my grandparents had collected these letters, many of which were very long. The writing that we did over the years served a practical purpose of unifying the family from afar while building writing skills. Letters also included illustrations of clouds, birds, dogs, family members and various other symbols. Perhaps one of the first steps parents can take to develop writing skills is to encourage their children to write grandparents regularly and to enhance these letters with drawings. It is likely children who write grandparents will be better writers than those who do not use writing for these practical purposes.
Bookmaking or journaling to record thoughts entertains children and all family members every bit as much as playing with toys or games. The mere actvity of gazing at a blank page and trying to envision what will go on the page builds connections between neurons in the brain. According to Win Wenger, author of "The Einstein Factor," scribbling, writing and keeping diaries is a "telltale mark of genius." (p. 58) There is no doubt the act of creation on a blank page improves intelligence, manuel dexterity, and kinsthetic abilities in addition to enhancing creativity. Such bookmaking and journaling may be done on computer as well as on real paper, but the skills learned through the process are different. For this reason, both the digital and tactile mediums are developmental although in different ways.
Parents need to guide their children to decorate and write in their journals wisely by utilizing entire pages as opposed to wasting paper as a means of respecting the conservation of trees. Graphic organizers for brainstorming are excellent devices with which families may begin creative journeys together. A drawing of a symbol or a large circle is usually placed in the middle. The topic or main idea goes in this shape. Then the shape expands with various branches listing art activities or writing topics to be explored alone or with the family group. Families might wish to begin with a large poster board so that the graphic organizer continues to grow.
I recall how my grandparents engaged me in writing letters which were sent and received through customary snail mail which is used less nowadays. Years later, several boxes were found in which my grandparents had collected these letters, many of which were very long. The writing that we did over the years served a practical purpose of unifying the family from afar while building writing skills. Letters also included illustrations of clouds, birds, dogs, family members and various other symbols. Perhaps one of the first steps parents can take to develop writing skills is to encourage their children to write grandparents regularly and to enhance these letters with drawings. It is likely children who write grandparents will be better writers than those who do not use writing for these practical purposes.
Bookmaking or journaling to record thoughts entertains children and all family members every bit as much as playing with toys or games. The mere actvity of gazing at a blank page and trying to envision what will go on the page builds connections between neurons in the brain. According to Win Wenger, author of "The Einstein Factor," scribbling, writing and keeping diaries is a "telltale mark of genius." (p. 58) There is no doubt the act of creation on a blank page improves intelligence, manuel dexterity, and kinsthetic abilities in addition to enhancing creativity. Such bookmaking and journaling may be done on computer as well as on real paper, but the skills learned through the process are different. For this reason, both the digital and tactile mediums are developmental although in different ways.
Parents need to guide their children to decorate and write in their journals wisely by utilizing entire pages as opposed to wasting paper as a means of respecting the conservation of trees. Graphic organizers for brainstorming are excellent devices with which families may begin creative journeys together. A drawing of a symbol or a large circle is usually placed in the middle. The topic or main idea goes in this shape. Then the shape expands with various branches listing art activities or writing topics to be explored alone or with the family group. Families might wish to begin with a large poster board so that the graphic organizer continues to grow.
Perhaps your family will list fun and creative activities that can be done as a group or even explore stories and visual activities such as collage and repetitive patterns that stimulate the mind with color and textures. Creating graphic organizers is often just as fun as family games such as "Monopoly." Surprisingly, there do not seem to be many families who employ this graphic organizer process, but it is commonly used to make connections in school teacher's classrooms such as mine where we analyze plots and characters and think of topic sentences for paragraphs.
Once the brainstorming and diagramming with a graphic organizer is complete, family members utilize their journals in thousands of ways. Obviously, they may choose to write fiction. Children need to know that their thoughts and ideas make a difference, that they do have stories to tell. Parents have the responsibility of empowering their children with attention to their stories. Children and adult creators, too, should add illustrations to their works regardless of whether or not they consider themselves talented in drawing because design skills are only developed through practice. The developing artists will have benefitted from the act of creation and the connections between the brain and the hand's activity.
With regards to design, family participants might wish to draw flowing, organic lines from one side of the page to the next, overlapping these lines to make many new shapes. Perhaps they will begin with twenty to thirty shapes. Next, they may fill in each shape with a different pattern, outline the patterns with ink or markers and fill them in with crayon or pencils colors. Alternatively, children may draw animals such as the "Creativity Cat" and fill it in with patchwork designs that are colored with numerous patterns from circles to squares. This was one of the most successful activities that I did with my visual arts students years ago. The possibilities are endless in journaling and illustration: Participants illustrate dreams, create games, draw ideal architecture and envision solutions to environmental problems. They understand optics through the creation of pointillistic drawings, three-dimensional illusion and blended color. As the family brainstorms for ideas, everyone grows and is empowered to be more successful while making the world a better place.
Once the brainstorming and diagramming with a graphic organizer is complete, family members utilize their journals in thousands of ways. Obviously, they may choose to write fiction. Children need to know that their thoughts and ideas make a difference, that they do have stories to tell. Parents have the responsibility of empowering their children with attention to their stories. Children and adult creators, too, should add illustrations to their works regardless of whether or not they consider themselves talented in drawing because design skills are only developed through practice. The developing artists will have benefitted from the act of creation and the connections between the brain and the hand's activity.
With regards to design, family participants might wish to draw flowing, organic lines from one side of the page to the next, overlapping these lines to make many new shapes. Perhaps they will begin with twenty to thirty shapes. Next, they may fill in each shape with a different pattern, outline the patterns with ink or markers and fill them in with crayon or pencils colors. Alternatively, children may draw animals such as the "Creativity Cat" and fill it in with patchwork designs that are colored with numerous patterns from circles to squares. This was one of the most successful activities that I did with my visual arts students years ago. The possibilities are endless in journaling and illustration: Participants illustrate dreams, create games, draw ideal architecture and envision solutions to environmental problems. They understand optics through the creation of pointillistic drawings, three-dimensional illusion and blended color. As the family brainstorms for ideas, everyone grows and is empowered to be more successful while making the world a better place.
Creativity doesn't stop with the journaling. Perhaps someone will draw dancing figures with drums that are reminiscent of Matisse. This activity can be extended by making or purchasing drums to make music and dance at home. Learn about American Indians through beading and feather crafts. Filmaking, acting, and song enhance the journaling activities so one finds that there is interconnectedness between the arts and practical daily living. Families will discover they, too, can invent their own recipes, lay out designs for gardening, and write their own histories in the form or memoirs. In order to start today, get a journal or a blank sheet of paper and begin to list all the creative activities that would bring joy to the members of your family. Begin to create your own games and rituals because this will be one of the most fulfilling, inexpensive activities of your life when done alone and in the context of the group.
Laura Sweeney
Read: Wenger, Win, Ph.D., "The Einstein Factor: A Proven Method for Increasing Your Intelligence," Prima Publishing, U.S.A., 1996.
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