Painting rocks. Nourishing creativity

"Life is a great big canvas, throw all the paint you can on it."

Today Jordyn and i painted rocks. Jordyn had so much fun painting them that she has declared today is " the best day ever." 

We sat out in the backyard, painted and talked about our day. Whenever we create together we use it as time to discuss how things are going in our lives, how we're feeling or what we plan on doing for the rest of the day. Jordyn has so gotten used to our talks during craft time that she is now the one initiating the conversations. 

Jordyn loves to create. I read an article a while ago about creativity being the key component to health and happiness. I don't know how scientifically proven it is but, as a creative person i do know that i get really unhappy if i don't have time to make/bake/paint/ or decorate something. My mood changes, I'm grouchy and not fun to be around. So,i do my best to encourage and nourish Jordyns love for creating because i don't want her to fall into a bad mood because she can't color me a picture of Fluttershy. 

The key is to make your home a petri dish for creativity. In our case, Jordyns room is designed to suit her love for creating.

She has a designated area for her art supplies. 

These sit on a shelf just beside her desk and are kept in tote buckets so that she can easily bring them into the living room and hang out with me and make things. These aren't super fancy or pinterest worthy but, they get the job done. In each tote basket we keep popsicle sticks, scrap paper, glitter, googley eyes, rhinestones, glitter, glue, glue sticks,  glitter, construction paper, craft scissors, glitter, stickers, foam shapes, glitter, cut out letters, glitter, cut out numbers and last but not least, glitter. Next to these totes we keep a box of pom poms and kids art tape printed with cute little designs. 

Having her supplies in an easy to reach place allows her to access them whenever she feels the creative bug bite.

Jordyns closet doors are also chalkboard. Not really much to explain here. They're pink. and she can write on them?…….done deal.

I created a reading nook in her room. This is where she creates stories and her imagination runs wild. The rain gutter bookshelves are great because she can easily see all of her favorite books.

Jordyn loves to play dress up. She's an only child so she dresses up and plays with her imaginary friend a lot.( she may just be talking to herself I'm not really sure.) but, i encourage it and support it. I use a clothing rack to store her dress up clothes so that they're easily visible and accessible to her. 

Anything Jordyn makes she wants to display. Our fridge is covered in her artwork but, she likes to be surrounded by her creations. 

The art wall in her room is what we use to show off her bigger paintings. Whenever she paints something new that she wants to hang, we simply change them out. 

Next to her desk we hang any other things she has created. puppets,flags,turkey, bananas….It makes her happy to show off her creations to her friends or friends parents that are seeing her room for the first time.

Nurturing your childs creative abilities requires us as parents to back off. Let go and leave artistic decisions up to them. Children develop creativity through various outlets. Music, dance, drawing, painting sculpting, playing, really the possibilities are endless. I encourage you to help your child find their passion and then back off. Let them create that dinosaur with flamingo legs that barks like a dog. 

Xo, Jeanice.