School Age Creative Activities

Children develop their creative skills through different activities.Portrait of a styled children. Theme: education.. image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com

Children are naturally creative. From an early age, children use their imaginations to tell stories, draw pictures that only they can interpret and turn simple objects into playthings. Help children develop their creativity through self-expression in a variety of activities. Exploring various types of creative activities, including art, drama, music, writing or other types of creative outlets helps nurture the natural ability children have to create.

No-Prep Drama

Provide a basket of dress-up items for each group of three or four children. Items can include various hats, scarves, ties, shoes, boas, sunglasses and clothing. Each group performs an "improv" type play for the others. If time allows, mix up the groups of children and repeat the activity.

Kids often know who invented the lightbulb and who created certain computer components or programs. Introduce the kids to inventors of interesting or even wacky things. Have the kids work alone, in pairs, or in small groups to design an invention.

They may draw, write, or even create the item with available materials. Let the kids show off their inventions to the other groups. Display the inventions in the classroom or a hallway, if desired.

Allow the group of children to search through the kitchen area for items they imagine as potential musical instruments. Be careful not to allow items that will cut or pinch. Let the kids play as a band, with or without background music.

Let the kids help decorate a corner of the room to become an "imagination station." Decorations can be anything from wacky creature cutouts fastened to the wall to an outer space scene or desert. Allow the kids to hang their creations from the ceiling or place unusual furniture items in the area. Stock a bookshelf with imagination books like Dr. Seuss, nursery rhymes and fairy tales, tall tales and some modern books the kids choose. Provide paper, writing and drawing materials, creative block toys, craft dough and other items that allow the kids to read or create as they wish.

Have the kids use unusual art tools, everything from their own hands to old shoes, a worn-out doll with hair, kitchen tools and toys that can clean up easily. Add texture to paint by adding sand or pebbles to it, or use jam or tinted applesauce as a fun alternative paint. Paint on recycled containers, cardboard scraps, picture frame sets without the glass or box surfaces. Let imaginations run wild, as long as the materials are available and nothing of value gets destroyed.

Kids can use their bodies to form letters, and the group can spell out a word.
Groups can make up their own cheers or chants with actions. Or, divide the entire group in half and let each group create an obstacle course or maze for the other group.