New PBS KIDS Show Helps Nurture Creativity in Preschoolers

When my kids were little, being creative was easy. All I had to do was keep my art cabinet stocked full of basic goodies: drawing paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils, rulers, glitter, pipe cleaners, scissors, glue... yada-yada. My house was full of art, inventions, crafts, and such.

But I've noticed that as they grew, these items were used less and less. Today, I usually have to give my kids specific projects to get them to ask for art materials.

According to some information from PBS KIDS that I read, creativity "defines our ability to be successful in the workplace, solve complex problems, enhance our socio-emotional skills, and craft several stories a day." The first workplace spaces that popped into my mind were PR firms, graphic design studios, and publishing houses. But if you really, really think about it, pretty much EVERY workspace benefits from employees who can solve complex problems and be creative in their day-to-day work.

The same information sheet said that "kids lose their creativity as they age." And that "the creativity scores of American children have consistently cropped every year for the last 28 years." How sad is that? And how do I stop that from happening with my own kids?

I think, that with my older two, I'm still motivating them to be creative with various projects and art class. My son also has a room FULL of LEGOS and spends lots of time creating his own masterpieces.

But now I have a little baby and I am giving this whole issue more thought. Starting when your kids are young is important. Do you nurture your preschooler/elementary child's creativity?

PBS KIDS is thinking about this issue, too. And tomorrow, Monday, February 19th, they are launching their first series dedicated entirely to the arts and creativity: PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC! Based on the best-selling book series by Victoria Kann, the show follows the adventures of Pinkalicious, her brother Peter, and their neighborhood friends. It focuses on encouraging its young viewers to engage in the creative arts and self-expression.

Pinkalicious is an artist at heart who imagines creative possibilities everywhere she looks. The show is designed to help your preschooler explore the arts with:

• Creative Problem Solving: the characters model creative problem solving and the power of teamwork.
  
• Everyday/Everywhere Art: Art and beauty can be found in everyday objects and in every moment throughout the day.
  
• Community Through Art: The arts help define communities, connect neighborhoods, and help us learn about each other and the larger world.
  
• Communicating Through Art: Artistic activities contribute to learning skills, helping children communicated thoughts, ideas, and emotions.

I think that as a society, we are starved for creativity. You can see evidence of it in the explosion of adult coloring books, the zentangle craze, and the renewed interest in needlework. Just walk into any bookstore and you'll see arts and crafts books in the entryway prominently displayed.

I see it in myself all the time now. When I was younger, I happily flitted from one creative project to the next. But over the last 15 years or so, I became so focused on mothering, I forgot about my own creative needs. That's why I love creating printables so much now. And I want to help my kids nurture their own creative spirits and not get lost like I was for years.

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Four Ways You Can Nurture Your Child's Creativity

1. Draw: Research indicates a connection between seemingly distracted scribbling and greater info retention and creativity.
   
2. Mold: Making things with your hands is a large part of finding your flow, and flow is highly correlated with happiness!
   
3. Look: Changing your perspective to see in a different light can lead to new ideas (try the rose-colored glasses!)
   
4. Play: Music can create happiness, which can broaden your mindset and enhance your desire to explore

So if you have a preschooler, be sure to check out the new PBS KIDS show, PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC tomorrow, Monday, February 19th, on your local PBS station!


Disclosure: I am a PBS VIP. I received information about the new show and the products shown above for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

8 Questions to Ask Your Child After School

I have three boys who love my attention! It is difficult to always make one-on-one time with each one, but I really try. Now that school is about to start, I know I will genuinely want to know about my soon to be second grader's day (even back when he was in preschool)! I might not always be able to take him out alone but I make sure to have a lengthy conversation at some point after he gets home from school.

We have learned that Diego likes to unwind right when he gets home from his busy day. He usually spends 30 minutes watching a show, or spends time at soccer practice. Like most moms, I am usually very eager to learn about what happened at school, but I remind myself to give him a little time to just relax. I have also learned not to ask him any open-ended questions that will make him reply with a simple "yes" or "no." When I was teaching in the classroom, I guided parents on how to ask questions after school and would say: You know your child best so strike up a conversation when everyone is relaxed. Another tip: Make sure your questions are very specific!

Here are eight excellent questions to ask your child after school:

1. What was the best thing you did at school today?

2. What was the hardest thing you had to do at school today?

3. Can you name three friends who sat the closest to you on the bus today? During lunch?

4. Did your teacher share any funny stories?

5. Was there anything you needed at school that you didn't have today?

6. What was the best game you played at recess today?

7. What did your friends eat at lunch? What did you have for a snack?

8. What did you read at school today?

These eight simple questions can reveal a whole lot of information for you. As parents, we need to know if a subject is too hard, in order to find ways to help our student as soon as possible. It's also important to see if our children are experiencing positive relationships with teachers and peers. Even the amount of food and water consumed play a huge factor on academic success! Remember that you don't have to ask any questions the minute you see your child...let the day just sink in with your child for a bit.

Good luck! Enjoy the upcoming school year!

top image: CR Photography

Betty Galvan, is writing "for smart and stylish moms" over

at MyFriendBettySays.com

3 Read-Aloud Books to Spark Creative Conversations with Your Child

Have you ever found yourself in a coincidental reading moment? I had 2 last Monday! My family and I were in a bookstore during a tornado while reading books with titles such as Stuck and Courage! The other coincidence is that our three special finds were books with the centralized theme of displaying different scenario outcomes for the one single situation or idea. This type of text gave my son and me an opportunity to continue a conversation listing our own thoughts long after we were done reading. While huddled away from the windows and in the dark (the power went out!), we threw ideas back and forth, imagining other possible outcomes in the book. An experience I will never forget! 

I hope you don't have to be huddled in a dangerous situation to experience such moments with your child! Teaching reading strategies such as making predictions and summarizing a story can happen with most books and can happen naturally. Visualization and making connections are a lot more fun when engaging the reader to contribute to the author's ideas. Certain books allow this to happen. Here are three great ones we found while taking shelter! 

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers is a simple yet very silly story of Floyd's kite getting stuck in a tree. He throws a shoe at it to get the kite down. The shoe gets stuck and...the list of Floyd's crazy ideas to get his kite down goes on and on. At the end of the book, Diego and I talked about what we would have done in that same situation. Although more reasonable ideas came up, we had a great laugh at making other silly stuff up too. 

Courage by Bernard Waber not only gave us a child's perspective of what is courage but we also read what a typical grown-up and even what a pup considers courage to be! One of my favorite descriptions of courage was, "Courage is deciding to have your hair cut." Another thoughtful one, "Courage is admiring (flowers) but not plucking." We got to read about the big ones too, like a firefighter's courage or being the first one to say "I'm sorry."  Talking about this character trait taught me a lot about my son's fears and his discovering what I find to be courageous was invaluable too. 

The World Belongs to You by Riccardo Bozzi was a lot more sweet and serious than the other two books just mentioned. Nevertheless, the conversational theme continues. With this book, we found a lot of opportunities to compare and contrast. "You are free to be happy" is one of the messages in the book and it is illustrated with shapes that form an ice cream cone. On the opposite page, the shapes are distorted, showing the spill, with the text, "but it won't always be easy." A coming-of-age book and a perfect gift for any child reaching a milestone, this book gave us countless opportunities to discuss how the perfect scenarios can sometimes come to an end. 

Bravo to books for keeping us distracted and occupied during a scary time! Adding our own ideas to the authors' wonderful books was a lot of fun and allowed us to sit tight and listen to each other's ideas. I loved the creativity behind all the discussion! 

Encouraging reading during the summer months is very important. The "extras" you do with your young students are a guaranteed bonus for the child's reading development and their creativity. The quality time spent is priceless too! Take a few moments after reading with kids to see what else they have in mind. You might find ideas that will make you wonder, why didn't the author think of that? 

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Betty Galvan, is helping her readers "find the positive and seek the benefits" over at her blog, MyFriendBettySays.com.

She is the mother of three beautiful little boys and a teacher.