The mind of your home is made up of the cognitive, intellectual, emotional, inspirational, and learning opportunities in the environment. It also includes the way challenges are embraced, the way new thoughts and ideas are treated, and the use of creative thinking skills on a daily basis.
As you and your family look for ways to make the mind of your home more creative, let your creative thinking skills be your guide. Begin by asking the following questions:
- How might we learn new things as a family?
- What are all the things we want to learn about?
- In what ways could we make time for reading as a family?
- How might we capture the things we’re curious about?
- What cool adventures could we take inside the house?
- What interesting adventures could we take outside the house?
- What books do we want to get at the library?
- What are all of the things we don’t like in the house that we could change?
Suggestions and Ideas for Nurturing the Creative Mind of Your Home
- Have a variety of reading materials accessible to your family, including books, magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, instruction manuals, catalogs, maps, etc.
- Read together every day.
- Incorporate a variety of entertainment options for your family members, being mindful of what type of stimulation these options provide. (This does not mean having 100 different television channels that enter your house through various means. This means having different types of entertainment that provide different types of stimulation.)
- Look for the positives first when encountering new thoughts and ideas. Give positive feedback before any negative comments.
- Treat mistakes as opportunities for learning and growing.
- Go on family adventures.
- Experience new things.
- Engage in conversations.
- Learn and share new information.
- Ask questions.
- Solve problems and embrace challenges together.
- Use the internet as a tool for learning, sharing, and exploring as a family.
- Allow family members to follow their curiosity. If your child is interested in bugs, for instance, provide her with books, tools, new information, and experiences that nurture this curiosity.
- Explore the natural world together.
*This section was modified from the book, My Sandwich is a Spaceship: Creative Thinking for Parents and Young Children.
