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Creative Children & Technology Raising your Kids In This Age by Nicole Dean
Take a stroll through any toy store you will be bombarded with walls 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 they all assault the senses 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 imagination Not if you surround your family with old fashioned games toys. It's up to you to feed your children a balanced diet of technology creativity. Here we go with just a few examples of old fashioned fun.
Shelves Filled With Books Providing a house full of books opens up a child's imagination feeds that inquisitive nature all kids have. When your child reads fiction they travel along with the story to places far away learn things they might never know about unless they opened up that book. For the child who has not been an eager reader in the past a vast array of cleaver interesting fiction can intrigue so thoroughly get the reader so involved in the story that the child forgets they're reading soon becomes hooked Non fiction books are also important in every home. Oftentimes parents assume that their pre school child will only be interested in their "storytime" fictional characters won't want to read anything that's non fiction. The truth is that all children no matter how young are interested in the world around them would enjoy stories about the way our world works the people who live in our world. Non fiction also serves as a lesson in research as your children move through their school years.
Blocks Legos Sit down with your child a box of blocks or plastic snap together toys 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 more with these toys that inspire creativity patience 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 share with you some of what happens there where it's located on the map 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 every child loves to show off their artwork. Providing your child with enough paper crayons paint glue to keep them busy happy for hours will produce a lot of artwork yes but it also provides your youngster an opportunity to sit quietly use their imagination. Set up a place for artwork with all the tools your child needs you'll be encouraging not only an interest in art but a place to express their ideas thoughts. Old magazines junk mail are great ways to provide your child with material that's inexpensive fun for any cutting pasting project. Freezer paper is another inexpensive way to make sure your children never run out of coloring painting surfaces. Coloring books are a nice way to get your younger child interested in art but free form drawing coloring really sets their imaginations free. Be sure to SUPERVISE your child closely when using scissors paint or glue. Accidents happen sometimes our younger children don't realize what feeding the dog a glue treat can do to their tummy.
Felt Boards for Storytelling An inventive imaginative story is another great way for kids to reach beyond the world they see every day. your felt story board can be handmade by hanging a large piece of felt on a sturdy upright surface or attaching the sheet of felt to an easel. You can also purchase a pre made felt board at hobby stores. Then you'll need to purchase sheets of colorful felt to be cut into various shapes sizes. For the youngest child an assortment of basic shapes will spark their imagination you'll be surprised at just how many objects they can create; objects like monsters houses boats cars maybe even their sibling your older children will enjoy cutting out designing the felt into characters props for their stories. Encourage your children to write their own stories then ask them to put on a production using the felt board. You can also create the characters settings for a famous play or story. No matter what your child envisions the time spent imagining the story is time well spent
Music Singing If your home has musical instruments you are well on your way to sparking your child's imagination. Playing writing or singing all help a child open their minds to the magic of creativity. Simple lessons in reading notes can help a child imagine what music "looks" like not just what it sounds like. Listen to music with your child try to see how many instruments you can pick out of the piece. Homemade instruments can be especially fun for the younger children. They love to walk around the house marching to their own beat. Put some fabric over an empty round cereal container they've got a drum. Throw some beans into a couple smaller containers you've got yourself some maracas. String some bells on a paper plate your child has a tambourine. Or take a walk outside listen to the birds sing. Music is all around us.
Pretend Dress Up Pull out a big box of dress up clothes your child's imagination will kick into full swing. Fill that box with discarded frilly dresses fancy shoes goofy blazers silly ties 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. & the gaudier they are for the kids the better they like them. Watch after Halloween for the lowest prices purchase a few costumes for your dress up bin. When your children start throwing themselves into dressing up the stories of who they are 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 House You don't have to buy a large expensive doll house for your child to enjoy the pleasures of play acting with dolls creating an environment for them to live in. With a few boxes craft items you have around you can help your child build a house decorate it to suit her taste imagination. Scraps of wallpaper fabric small pictures or just about anything can be used to furnish the doll's new home. Then listen as your child moves the dolls around through the house living out their doll lives see if you don't pick up on some funny dialogue your child is using with the dolls. your child's doll world will be a place to explore all sorts of curious ideas that aren't possible in the world outside of the doll house. Sit with your child enjoy the stories.
Puppets You can make puppets out of socks paper bags felt cloth popsicle sticks or just about anything you can get your hand into or onto. Use a variety of materials in all sorts of colors to make the characters interesting. If your child is very young just a couple simple sock puppets with big smiles bring out the giggles. With older children you may want to make a stage have them share their puppet stories. Don't forget to grab the video camera to capture your child's genius
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 pouring give your child the same "pretend tasks" to do. Bubbles are a great way to entertain children the fun lasts long enough usually for their fingers to get all pruny. Just a couple plastic bowls of bubbles a few plastic utensils will keep a young child occupied fascinated for a long time. Another fun food choice is puffed rice cereal. Again just some plastic bowls utensils on the kitchen floor 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
Creative children come from creative parents. Without your imagination for developing the opportunities for your children to drop the technology pick up a book game or craft there would be no chance of raising creative children. You're making the first step right here by surrounding your child with good old fashioned fun.
Nicole Dean is work at home mom of two owner of ShowKidstheFun. com showkidsthefun. com which specializes in quality family time. If you're looking for a way to earn money from home she recommends ShowMOMtheMoney. com ShowMomtheMoney. com providing work at home info since 2004. Creative Children & Technology Raising your Kids In This Age