Inspire Creative Thinking Through Games
If your child seems stuck in a creativity rut , try sprinkling in one of these games to get their juices flowing in a different way .
• Shared storytelling . To begin , snuggle up together and think of a theme or topic . Then , decide who will begin the story . That person will tell the beginning of the story , and leave off for the next person to pick up . Then , you , or the next person in line , will take the story in their own creative direction for several minutes before leaving off for the next to pick up , and so on ! This is a wonderful brain exercise to really get those creative juices flowing !
• Musical Art . You ’ ve played musical chairs , but how about musical art ? Play a section of music and ask your child to draw or paint how the music makes her feel . After a minute or two , change the music . It ’ s interesting to see how different types of music affects their art !
• If your child loves video games , try one that improves creativity , like Minecraft , SimCity , or Animal Crossing . A study of nearly 500 12-year-olds found that the more kids played video games , the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories . Linda Jackson , professor of psychology and lead researcher on the project , said the study appears to be the first evidence-based demonstration of a relationship between technology use and creativity . •
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