CreativePlay Plus: Ideas in Play and Child Development

Understanding death is a life-long process that begins in early childhood. Handling feelings about death is a personal experience.

A young child’s curiosity about death often centers on the physical facts. A child might want to know what happens to the body at death.  What does dead look like?  Do dead people see, feel or experience hunger?  Children must first understand death’s concrete manifestations.

Talking about a death that is not significant to the child’s world is the best opportunity to explore the topic and help a child articulate his/her fears.  The demise of a plant, fish, pet or distant relative lays the groundwork for helping children cope with a more painful death.

When someone dies it is important to approach the discussion with your child gently and lovingly; the tone of your voice should be warm, empathic and kind.  What you say is significant, but how you say it will have an even greater bearing on how your child internalizes the message.  Your child should feel that the subject can be discussed openly and without fear, even if you are experiencing some conflicted or unresolved feelings.

Adults often withhold information about death fearing it will threaten a child’s sense of security and well-being.  Consider the following:

• Feelings of exclusion can be much harder for children than feelings of sadness.
• Uncertainly can arouse anxiety; when there are unanswered and unspoken questions, children usually create their own explanations.  Often these explanations are scarier than reality.
• Since young children take what we say literally, euphemisms such as “lost,” “passed away,” or “laid to rest” should not be used when talking to your child about death.

One of the best ways to promote a child’s well-being is to give straightforward answers to his/her questions and ample opportunity to ask them.  A child’s principal source of strength is understanding that death can be talked about openly and without fear.

April showers bring May flowers, but how do you help keep your kids playing creatively when it is raining outside? Mommy blogger Stephanie from Mommy Poppins® suggest pitching a tent in your living room for a good old fashion Living Room Camp Out. We love this activity because it helps your kids think outside of the box by encouraging them to:

• Turn off the electricity (including the TV and phones) and turn on the flash lights
• Tell ghost stories and sing songs around the “camp fire”
• Make animal shadows on the wall
• Go on a scavenger hunt or “nature watch” out the window
• Make indoor camp fire s’mores (with assistance from an adult of course)

Best of all, you are able to incorporate creative play with your kids even on a rainy day!

Undoubtedly an important aspect of child development is a child’s ability to be playful. No one knew this better than Dr. Seuss who said:

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, which is what I do. And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”

To be playful means to have a flexible understanding and approach to life. It also means having the ability to make an experience more joyful and entertaining. If you have a child, you understand that most children inherently have this gift to make a lot of situations fun when given the opportunity. Even something as simple as walking from the car to the front door could mean a chance to skip, twirl, fly, and buzz all the way home.  We write a lot about the importance of giving children time to play, but having a playful disposition may be just as important as the act of playing itself. One way to help your child be playful: reading books by creative writers like Dr. Seuss. Another way, be a playful parent! That way, when they come up against a boring or scary situation they have the freedom to escape into their imagination and make light of some of life’s tedious tasks.

Educational systems that are focused on traditional learning, like language arts and math, do not give children struggling in these areas a chance to learn other potential strengths. Children who have strengths in music, dance, theater, and art aren’t necessarily given opportunities during the school day to hone their skills. Most importantly, these children are lacking opportunities to feel good about themselves in ways that arts education can provide. Imagine not having at least a little time during the day to do something you are good at or express yourself in a way you feel comfortable. For children who struggle in traditional classrooms it could be a constant reminder that they are not “good enough.”

Something to consider- think about what arts education really provides. Is it really just downtime during the school day for children to do craft projects or take music lessons? I argue that it’s not.

• Arts education can be a way for children to process, reflect, and organize content in a way that is perhaps more meaningful than traditional learning.
• Arts education also helps children practice higher level thinking like: analysis of information, problem solving, and execution of ideas while also expressing their selves.
• For example, asking a child to make a bird and nest out of clay requires the child to recall a mental picture of what that means to them, attempt to represent this image, and also learn to manage challenges along the way, like birds have feathers but I’m working with clay and not feathers.

Arts education is an important part of school and unfortunately it seems to be less valued than traditional academics.  In what ways does your child’s school allow your child to explore non-traditional academic subjects? Are there things you do at home or extracurricular activities you and your child are involved in to help supplement traditional learning?

Dr. Anthony Pelligrini is a notable scholar of recess and the education system. According to him, recess is disappearing because school administrators are more concerned with increasing instructional time and claim that recess promotes bullying and aggressive behaviors.

The argument that recess is not as developmentally important as instructional time is not well founded. We know from extensive research, that children who are asked to perform a school task are significantly more attentive after recess than when they are deprived of a break. (See our previous posts, A breath of fresh air and More than just a walk in the park)

Moreover, the argument that recess promotes negative interactions between children is also not supported. In a cross-cultural study, conducted by Pelligrini, they found that less than 2% of behaviors observed on playgrounds are physically or verbally aggressive. Additionally, with adequate adult supervision, this rate becomes even lower. We also know that children who are bullied are also bullied at lunch, on buses, in bathrooms, just about anywhere where children are not well monitored by adults. In actuality, lack of adult supervision may more likely be the culprit in creating opportunities for children to be aggressive.

How much time does your school district allot for recess or free play periods? Are your children monitored well during recess? What do you think of this argument? Do you think children are bullied more on the playground than any other setting at school?

It seems like every time the New Year rolls around, we make resolutions to ourselves.  Lose weight. Stick to a budget.  Get organized.  So often, it seems as if those resolutions just end up falling by the wayside!  Maybe it’s time to make some resolutions that are easier to stick to, more specific, and more realistic so that we may actually accomplish them.  Instead of worrying about that extra 10 pounds, why not resolve to make 2010 the year creative play becomes an important part of life in your home?

Start by taking a look at the toys in your household – are there things the kids have outgrown?  Give them to charity!  Most likely, those toys won’t even be missed.

Next, cast a critical eye at the quality of the toys – can kids learn from and be inspired by them, or are they the types of toys which lead children into specific forms of directed play?  If you’re seeing a lot of things that wouldn’t lend a creative spark to play, put them away!  You don’t have to get rid of them, but take this opportunity to make these toys a “last resort” for an especially snowy or rainy day.

Finally, note what you have around the house that could be used for creative play, and if you haven’t already, start a “prop box” for kids to go to when you hear the words all caregivers dread the most – “I’m bored!”  The box can contain almost anything, from last year’s Halloween costumes, to towels, to stuffed animals, and even your old clothes.  Kids have the creative capacity to be inspired by almost anything, and chances are, your house is a treasure trove of potentially exciting and stimulating props that will allow them to imagine, create, and explore well into the next year, and beyond!

The holiday season is in full swing, and for many people, this means Christmas shopping for children is at the top of their list. If you have kids on your list this year, there are plenty of ways to make sure they aren’t just overwhelmed by store-bought Christmas gifts, but instead get a chance to receive some great toys for creative play which can be used all year long!

One way to avoid the pressures of the retail world at Christmas is to make your own Christmas gifts for the children on your list. For toddlers, homemade play dough is a sure hit. You can create endless options using food coloring, and storage is simple with the use of disposable storage containers. Just be sure you use the kind with tight lids to keep the dough from drying out too quickly.

Homemade blocks are another great idea for toddlers. Using such simple things as empty milk cartons and paper bags, you can quickly and easily make a full set of alphabet or number blocks — Christmas gifts little ones will be entertained by for hours.

For slightly older children, Christmas gifts like playsilks are a versatile and fun alternative to traditional dress-up costumes. Purchased in basic white, these inexpensive playsilks can be dyed with Kool-Aid (yes, Kool-Aid!) and used in a variety of ways to create endless costume combinations.

Finally, if you spend any amount of time around kids, chances are you’ve built up a supply of crayons, many of which have been worn down to almost nothing. But that doesn’t mean these hard-to-handle nubs can’t be repurposed! In fact, you can use them to make colorful, chunky crayons which are easy to hold, and fun Christmas gifts for children of almost any age.

The holiday season is made up of several major holidays, of which Hanukkah is first. If you follow the Jewish faith, this is a great time to commemorate the holiday with children through creative play, while allowing them to take part in important family and religious traditions.  Even if you don’t traditionally celebrate Hanukkah, but are interested in exposing kids to religious diversity, there are plenty of ways to do that, too.

One way to get kids involved in celebrating and understanding Hanukkah is by grabbing your prop box and encouraging them to act out the Hanukkah story.

For the less theatrical group, crafting may be more your thing.  There are a variety of different ways to use creative crafts to celebrate Hanukkah.  Anything from the traditional menorah to a fun dreidel can be crafted easily and inexpensively out of things you have on hand or even in your own backyard!

Another fun (and yummy!) way to celebrate Hanukkah is by making specific traditional foods.  Delicious Hanukkah recipes for dishes such as potato latkes, kugel, and apple fritters are widely available, and often simple to make.  Just be sure that an adult is on hand to help supervise the cooking!  If you sit down for a special meal of Hanukkah favorites, you may want to include a special holiday blessing.

Lastly, there are many games and activities which can make what is often known as the “Festival of Lights” into an educational but fun time for the whole family.  From coloring pages, to puzzles, to the traditional dreidel game, there are many ways to celebrate Hanukkah, while honoring the ancient traditions of the holiday.

The holidays are here, and if you’re a parent or caregiver to children, it’s a great time to start thinking about winter break activities that will keep kids busy and having fun.  As an added bonus, if the activities result in a little learning, well then, all the better!

Some of the best winter break activities are fairly traditional, like making snowmen in colder climates when weather permits.  But how about taking that outdoor fun to a new level by creating different kinds of snow creatures, from snowdogs to snowmonsters?  Don’t forget to utilize your creative play prop box during this activity – you’ll be amazed at what kids will find to “dress up” their creations!

Another great winter break activity for a frosty day is baking or cooking (with an adult’s supervision, of course!).  Have a book of child-friendly recipes on hand and let them choose what they want to make (make sure it’s age-appropriate – even kids’ cookbooks generally span a range of ages).  Then take them to the grocery store with a list of needed ingredients.  For older children, this is a great time to start shaping skills such as selecting produce or even budgeting.  Let them pick out what’s on the list, and only guide them when they get off track.  Once you get everything home, make a production out of it!  Tie on aprons, make chefs hats out of napkins, and get cooking!

For a simpler take on baking, buy refrigerated sugar cookie dough, and let kids of all ages have a chance to shape, bake, and decorate the final product.  Don’t feel limited to traditional holiday themes –a little cookie dough and a lot of creative energy will produce hours of incredible, edible art in all shapes and sizes.

Finally, the holidays are a time when many children receive gifts from various friends and relatives, and the perfect winter break activity to thank others for their generosity is making homemade thank you cards.  This is an excellent way to let kids get creative, while making a lasting and much-appreciated memento for the gift giver.  Gather up whatever art supplies you have on hand, a list of recipients and you’re ready to go!  This is the ideal opportunity to have a little messy, crafty fun, while learning the art of expressing gratitude to those around us at a very special time of year.

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Halloween is a great time to have some fun combining a learning activity — shape identification — with one of the best-loved activities of the season – pumpkin carving!

Shape identification is an important skill for children to practice and learn, starting as early as nursery and pre-school.  When children recognize, identify, and become able to name different shapes, they are learning to tie words (such as “Square” or “Circle”) to mathematical concepts, forming a foundation for later learning in this area.

If you plan on integrating shape identification lessons into your evening of pumpkin carving, your best bet is to have more than one pumpkin on hand, because as with all creative play

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-related activities, you want to let your kids direct the activity themselves.  This will likely result in lots of fun and creative ideas, but also a great big mess, so it’s good to have more than one “subject” to carve on (with an adult’s help and safety knives, of course!).

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Starting out, let your kids draw on the pumpkin with a marker (you can always help them if they’re too young for drawing) in order to create whatever face or scene they want on the pumpkin.  Have them name the shapes they’re drawing as they go.  Then, go back and carve the shapes into the pumpkin, again having them give names to the shapes as the pumpkin carving progresses.

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Remember, this should be fun – don’t feel like the design on the pumpkin needs to look like anything in particular.  Pumpkin carving is an act of creativity for your kids, so let them do what they’d like with their pumpkin, even if it may not look exactly like something you’d generally want on your front porch!  In this case, shape identification skills are simply a helpful by-product of a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with your children.

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Of course, pumpkin carving isn’t the only way to help your children enhance their shape identification skills.  Try a 20-minute shape walk on one of these last beautiful days of fall, and help your kids get active while learning at the same time!

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