When I think of developing a child's creativity my first thought is always art and do they have access to suitable equipment for painting and drawing?
My first suggestion would be an easel such as the John Crane Tidlo Double Sided Easel; that way whenever the mood takes them a child can become Picasso for a few minutes or several hours! Providing a child with access to a wide range of art equipment such as finger paints, crayons, pencils, paints with brushes, paint dabbers and chalk allows them to explore different ways of mark making. This will also help to develop their fine motor skills, supporting their progression from a palmer grip, in which the writing instrument is grasped in the palm of the hand, to a pincher grip, which is the traditional way to hold a pen/pencil/paintbrush.
Developing a child's creativity is not just about being able to draw and paint. There is an age old cliche about a child being given a new toy and them preferring the box, but it's a cliche for a reason! Children love the opportunity to imagine and make believe and this pretend play has a huge impact on developing a child's creativity too. How can an artist visualise a new painting without having the ability to first make believe it in their minds?
Therefore opportunities to help develop the imagination where a child is presented a blank canvas such as an empty box shouldn't be ignored. A box can be so many things: cars; rockets; boats; and castles...just give one to your child and you will be amazed at some of the ideas they can come up with! Another blank canvas could be large pieces of fabric/blankets, which make tents, caves, dresses, capes, veils and who knows what else?
We shouldn't forget one of my favourite creative arts: music.
Sing, sing, sing and then sing some more to your child and with your child. Early familiarity with music can spark a love of music that can last a lifetime and it can also create synapse links in the brain that help to engender a musical ability from a young age.
Simple instruments such as the I'm Toy Melody Mix or the Melissa and Doug High Sea Symphony set can be used by a child on their own to create songs and musical compositions but they can also be used to play name the sound games with an adult.
The adult should choose an instrument and then play it, whilst hiding it from sight: can the child name that sound? Which instrument made the noise? Just promise me that when you are naming the instruments you use the correct names: a xylophone is wooden and a glockenspiel is metal. It is not the other way around, no matter what the toy says! It is a common mistake and one that I am trying to slowly correct one article at a time!
Another favourite of mine is the Melissa and Doug Learn to Play Piano.
It can be used to bash out a contemporary musical composition (noise!) but as the child grows so too do the possibilities as the piano comes with an easy to follow music book and colour coded keys to follow the tunes. Combine playing the songs with singing with your child and you have an excellent way to develop musical creativity and ability.
