Fourteen 5-Minute Games to Spark Kids’ Creativity

AN ALLIGATOR ATE APRICOTS!

see ALLITERATION NATION

Teaching creative thinking to kids helps them become independent learners and achievers for a lifetime. Nurture their imaginations and get ready to have fun, be challenged, and be amazed at the awesome ideas that flow.

In honor of 2014, here are fourteen favorite games that fire up creative thought and let imaginations run wild. Kids can play these quick games in groups or independently.

WORD GAMES

• PUT IN A GOOD WORD – The first player says a simple sentence such as “Birds can fly.” The next player must then add one or two words to the original sentence. For example, he may say, “Blue birds can fly.” Then, the following player adds another word or two. Now the sentence may become “Blue birds can fly quickly,” then, Blue birds can fly quickly toward Florida,” and so on until a player cannot think of another word to add to the sentence.
• LAST WORD – Say a sentence such as “I like peaches.” The next player must then create a sentence using the last word of the former sentence for the first word of his sentence such as “Peaches do not grow in the ocean.” Continuing the example, “Ocean and sand make a beach,” then “Beach toys are fun,” and so on. Play goes back and forth until one player gets stumped. For an extra challenge, restrict the sentences to a specific topic. 
• ALLITERATION NATION – Have a conversation with another player using alliteration. Choose a letter of the alphabet and create sentences using as many words that begin with that letter as possible. For instance, for the letter “w,” your sentence might be: “We want water whenever we waltz,” or “We will work with your wish.” Challenge your partner to an alliterative standoff to see who can create the longest sentences with any given letter. For younger children use three or four word sentences such as "a dog did dance."
• ACRONYM NERD – To begin this game, the first player calls out a four- or five-letter word. The next player must then think of an acronym for that word. For example, if the word is “nerd,” the next player might say, “Nine elephants rolled downhill.” This player then calls out another word, and play continues. The sentences must be complete, but need not be entirely logical.

STORY-SPINNERS 

• LIFE’S A BEACH – In this game of hypothetical mishaps, players dream up a myriad

  Click to read more ...

100 Years Later the Imagination of John Martin Still Delights

Meet one of my favorite Creative Heroes. Morgan van Roorbach Shepard had a lonely life in the 1870s. He was orphaned at 9 and raised in a series of American boarding schools where he was an outcast. Yet he believed in the power of creativity (whether he knew the word as we mean it or not), and he believed in the potential of children's minds.

Later he renamed himself John Martin, honoring a colony of Martin birds he enjoyed watching as a child, and began writing and illustrating children's stories and verse. In 1908 he founded an imaginative publication called John Martin's Letters, which he mailed to 2000 children each month. 

By 1913 the letters had grown into a popular children's magazine, John Martin's Book, which continued through 1933.

WORDS AND PICTURES – These stylish, whimsical silhouettes with accompanying verses were characteristic of the illustrations in John Martin's Books.

Click to read more ...

Creativity Soars, But Sometimes It Hops

In my childhood I found the flat sidewalks of Chicago made hopscotch a fun option for kids with nothing to do. The classic game of active amusement could become a neighborhood tournament through creative innovation back then. Kids at play often reveal astonishing creative talents.

Hopping With Holly

Holly, a friend from those days, told me about the summer she stayed with her aunt and had no place to play. But she befriended the girl who lived next door.

They found some chalk and drew a hopscotch course on the sidewalk. They played every day, and invented new hopscotch courses with twists and turns and challenging passages. Soon other kids were joining in.

By midsummer Holly and her friend had organized daily hopscotch contests and even gave out award certificates they made themselves. 

With a stick of chalk and a lot of creativity Holly and her friend turned that summer into something special.

Click to read more ...

Creative Connections

Creative thinkers play with metaphors and analogies. This means that they look at one thing as if it were another thing. They ask, “What else could this be like?” They make new connections between unrelated things. 

Click to read more ...