Jennifer works as a pediatric physiotherapist and shares her creative ideas and DIY projects over at Clean and Scentsible. She lives in Mission, B.C. Canada with her husband, Dave, and two energetic boys, Matthew {8} and Connor {5}. She is always looking for fun ways to Take on the Creative during every day life.
Tell us about your NOW (Noodle On The Wall) with your children?
Celebrating the holidays is one of our favorite ways to bring out our creative juices and always gets the kids excited. We love planning holiday and birthday parties and will talk about what we are going to do for months. From creating decorations to planning the food, there is always an endless source or projects! Our current NOW is talking about our Thanksgiving next weekend. We have made handprint turkeys and enjoyed this turkey {chocolate!} fondue while we discussed what Thanksgiving is all about and what we are thankful for.
Celebrating the holidays is one of our favorite ways to bring out our creative juices and always gets the kids excited. We love planning holiday and birthday parties and will talk about what we are going to do for months. From creating decorations to planning the food, there is always an endless source or projects! Our current NOW is talking about our Thanksgiving next weekend. We have made handprint turkeys and enjoyed this turkey {chocolate!} fondue while we discussed what Thanksgiving is all about and what we are thankful for.
What role does creativity play in your home?
In today's busy times, I think it is important to bring creativity into every day life. Creativity is not just about sitting down with our kids and creating an art project. It is is about inspiring our children to think in new and unconventional ways and to help them generate ideas in order to problem solve. We try to encourage our kids to tell us stories, engage in imaginative play, read, and make things on their own.
In today's busy times, I think it is important to bring creativity into every day life. Creativity is not just about sitting down with our kids and creating an art project. It is is about inspiring our children to think in new and unconventional ways and to help them generate ideas in order to problem solve. We try to encourage our kids to tell us stories, engage in imaginative play, read, and make things on their own.
What inspires you to take on the creative with your kids?
My kids are always the biggest source of inspiration! I can see how much more excited they are about learning when I try to be more creative in my approaches to teaching them and letting them explore. This summer we created a summer time capsule to capture a "snapshot" of our lives in 2012. The boys loved picking out what they were going to put in the time capsule and put a lot of thought into answering the questions. And, of course, their favorite part was getting messy doing the hand and foot prints!
My kids are always the biggest source of inspiration! I can see how much more excited they are about learning when I try to be more creative in my approaches to teaching them and letting them explore. This summer we created a summer time capsule to capture a "snapshot" of our lives in 2012. The boys loved picking out what they were going to put in the time capsule and put a lot of thought into answering the questions. And, of course, their favorite part was getting messy doing the hand and foot prints!
How do you nurture your child's creativity?
Neither one of my boys have been drawn to the typical art projects that children often like to do. They would not sit down on their own to draw or color a picture and did not show much interest in painting or creating with playdough. They are both movers and I have learned that they can be much more creative when they are out and exploring. We go to the zoo, visit local farms, or just head out for a walk. It is amazing what you can find outside that works great as an art project!
When we do work on more "sit down" projects, I try to keep things short and sweet and involve the boys in picking out the project. They are generally much more excited to do a project if it is related to something that we have been doing or talking about. In our reading nook, we have some easy change picture frames hanging up for the kids to draw a picture from their favorite book that we are reading.
Neither one of my boys have been drawn to the typical art projects that children often like to do. They would not sit down on their own to draw or color a picture and did not show much interest in painting or creating with playdough. They are both movers and I have learned that they can be much more creative when they are out and exploring. We go to the zoo, visit local farms, or just head out for a walk. It is amazing what you can find outside that works great as an art project!
When we do work on more "sit down" projects, I try to keep things short and sweet and involve the boys in picking out the project. They are generally much more excited to do a project if it is related to something that we have been doing or talking about. In our reading nook, we have some easy change picture frames hanging up for the kids to draw a picture from their favorite book that we are reading.
What sticky noodles can you offer other Moms taking on the creative with their kids?
Let your children take the lead when it comes to developing ways to nurture their creativity and incorporate your creativity into themes or ideas that they are already interested in. Right now my boys are totally Star Wars obsessed - we have made new capes for their figures, created ships out of Lego, made light sabers out of pool noodles, and participated in endless make believe games of space adventures! Our boys also love to play games so we created these Shrinky Dink game pieces for us to use.
Let your children take the lead when it comes to developing ways to nurture their creativity and incorporate your creativity into themes or ideas that they are already interested in. Right now my boys are totally Star Wars obsessed - we have made new capes for their figures, created ships out of Lego, made light sabers out of pool noodles, and participated in endless make believe games of space adventures! Our boys also love to play games so we created these Shrinky Dink game pieces for us to use.
I still do try to encourage some "sit down" creative projects and have set up an Art Station in one of the boy's rooms. It is stocked with pens, crayons, glue, paper, paint, and other random objects that the boys have collected in the name of "art"!
We also try to have some fun places that the boys can display their art. We use some bulletin boards and this art display for special projects.
Lastly, I would say to always encourage your children to get involved in the process of creating. Encourage them to experiment, to make mistakes, and to problem solve on their own. Let them know that it is okay if they are not always right.
What is your child's ideal noodle dish?
Both of the boys love their pasta and they like things simple. A bowl of spaghetti would probably top their list. We also love to be creative with food and their favorite lunch is creating a Mr. Tortilla head out of a tortilla and whatever food we have on hand.
What is your child's ideal noodle dish?
Both of the boys love their pasta and they like things simple. A bowl of spaghetti would probably top their list. We also love to be creative with food and their favorite lunch is creating a Mr. Tortilla head out of a tortilla and whatever food we have on hand.
Feel free to drop by Clean and Scentsible for many more fun and creative projects for kids {and don't worry - there is lots for adults too!} You can also follow along on Facebook or Twitter.
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