What is creative expression and why practice it?
Creative expression is widely regarded as a way for people, especially children, to express their inner thoughts, opinions, and even identities through forms of art such as painting, writing as well as music. A large part of one’s personal experience and knowledge greatly forms the basis of their expression and can mirror or help them process their emotions or thoughts.
How does it benefit your kids?
The practice of creative expression has numerous benefits to your child. It, first of all, can help build and develop the fine-motor and language skills of your child, assisting them in growing to become more confident and all-round developed individuals. Improved critical thinking and problem-solving skills can also be nurtured when children engage in and enjoy creative expression. This method is also great at helping children process and develops any emotions that they feel, which can help them cope with it better (especially if they’ve been through traumatic events). In addition, parents and teachers will be able to better monitor the child’s development based on the products of their creative expressions. It’s also like a self-appraisal of sorts that a child can do for himself.
How to foster creative expression in children
Creative play is a very large part of creative expression, and involves allowing children to use familiar materials in a new way. This includes both role-playings as well as imaginative play. Through these activities, children are able to face simulated situations of real-life issues and can learn, in their own way, how to overcome obstacles that they might face. They can do this by going through numerous attempts at the same movements or skills as well as though processes. Many scientific studies have shown that creative play cannot be replaced by any other forms of skills development when learning to relate to our great big world. The simple act of reading to or with your child can also have beneficial effects on them.
Inviting more of your child’s friends to join into their creative play time will add another important element of development – social skills. Interacting with others will help them understand what theirs should be in different scenarios and allow them to work on considering the needs of others and building an understanding of morals and values different to theirs. This reinforcing of social skills is largely done through dramatic play or role playing, and allows children to act out life scenarios without worries or pressure.
Making the best of creative expression
With creative expression being a very large part of many education systems in the world, there is no doubt then that it is a crucial tool for every child in their developmental stages. Ensure that there is a variation on the types of play that your child goes through, as well as introduce diverse content or topics that appeal to them, yet educates. Schedule and make time for creative expression regularly and your child would have a great chance of developing in a more holistic manner.
By Denise McCabe
Children’s Books by Denise McCabe are available by clicking here
Email: denisekidsstories@gmail.com
http://www.kidsstoriesblog.com
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