Wednesday, April 3, 2013

C is for Create

 C is for Create

I tend to say I'm not creative, but maybe that's not quite accurate. I'm creative, but not talented.  Ha. That sounds worse doesn't it?  What I mean is I love to create, and I appreciate creativity in others, but mine is never anything remarkable. I attempt to bring creativity into my life in a myriad of ways, but the execution of my creative thought is rarely the way I imagined it in my head.

I love to sing, but can't carry a tune. I love to dance, but I'm not a natural. I love beautiful art, but am not a painter. I love to bake, but my layer cakes often sit lopsided on the stand. I admire a flourishing garden, but my thumb is only a very light shade of green.


What I have done is raise creative children. Daughter1 is restless if she has no dance in her life.  Daughter2 is a teacher which requires a level of creativity people outside the profession don't necessarily recognize. Both girls play instruments and have beautiful voices.  Both love to be center stage. Daughter1 writes, draws, designs. She makes original gifts, paints plaques, and is not afraid of mod podge, scissors, and a blank piece of paper.  Daughter2 could and should have her own cooking show.

When you look at that newborn babe in the cradle, her wide eyes asking, "So what are you going to do with me now?" your mind imagines all sorts of things.  Maybe she'll be a doctor. A prima ballerina.  Olympian-President-Mother.  


As the parent you are the first to feed their dreams and encourage their interests...you are the one who first opens the door to a world of possibilities. You provide the tools and the opportunity and the paint and markers. You let them color at the kitchen table, sign them up for soccer, listen to the plonking of piano keys and the squeaky tones of a budding violinist.  

I taught kindergarten for a few years and it always made me a little sad to hear a parent say they didn't allow their child to play with paint or markers because they, the parent, couldn't handle the mess. Creativity is rarely neat and tidy, and creativity contained is not exactly creativity.  


Kids in the digital age feel a kind of pressure I don't think I felt as a child. Compete-join-do and then share it with everyone you know and some you don't. Achieve a certain test score or your school won't get the blue ribbon. Make the team in third grade or you won't get the college scholarship. Think about 'your resume'.

Its hard to be creative on a schedule.

When my girls were young I quite often turned off the television, which was naturally met with no small amount of whining and cries of, 'But we're bo-red'. My response to that was normally to offer up a list of household chores they were welcome to do, and somehow they always came up with something better.

Kids need to be bored now and then. They need unstructured time to figure out what truly interests them, as opposed to a schedule and list of activities mom thinks would be good to try. They need to make up games, spin til they're dizzy in the front yard, lie in the grass and stare at the big blue sky.  They need to draw on the sidewalk and maybe their nose, with a big fat stick of chalk.

Kids need time to find their inner artist, to think about nothing and everything...to dream and imagine and see what they are drawn to when no one is telling them how to fill their every minute.

No matter where that newborn babe eventually lands in terms of their eventual career, I think we all need a bit of beauty in our lives.  The grown up world is harsh and unforgiving. Learning to feed your creativity at an early age helps soften the hard edges of adulthood.

I'm thankful for a mother who allowed my imagination to flourish.
I'm thankful for daughters who still inspire me to try.

30 comments:

  1. Absolutely agree about fostering creativity in our kids.

    Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
    Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  2. oh i cannot tell you how much i agree with this post---but not the part about you not being gifted---your blog is proof of your creativity--always interesting!

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  3. Somehow I'm not entirely convinced with the fact of you not being creative! :)

    Regards
    Kriti
    [Stopping by from the A to Z Challenge]

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  4. I am also a person who feels like I have creativity within that never comes out quite the way I envision it. I love that my children and grandchildren have talents that show in such tangible ways.

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  5. My husband's oldest sister always told her kids that only boring children are bored. :) We adopted that little saying, and our group spent many days outside in the sandbox, riding bikes, 'painting' with water, and doing other things that go along with growing up in the country. We, too, turned the tv off, and we didn't even have one in the car (hard for digital-age kids to imagine). We had lots of messes, lots of fun, lots of memories. Thanks for reminding me. :)

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  6. Your A-Z posts are my favorite too! I love how sister looks like she's got more chalk on her face than the driveway. And I agree with Lynn's comment. Clearly you have a talent for words. xo

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  7. Creativity is in the eye of the beholder. :-) Anything your create from your own effort is precious and valuable. Remember those lumpy ashtrays or goofy xmas ornaments our kids made when they were young? They weren't perfect in the traditional sense, but they were full of love and value b/c our kids made them. It's like that w/ us, too. You don't have to be "talented" to be creative! You have a great blog! Thanks for popping in my blog, fellow A-Zer!

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  8. You may not think you're very good at the things you love to do, but...you CAN write!
    And, I love your "theme"! VERY creative! :)

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  9. As usual, I agree!
    I think unstructured playtime is going the way of the dinosaur, and it has SO much value.

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  10. Life In A Small Town (I'm sorry, I don't know your actual name) is right - you can definitely write!

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  11. I soo identify with the way you are explaining your creativity that it might as well be me you are speaking of, haha. I too LOVE that I see it in my kids. And to finish it off I couldn't agree more about the real NEED to let kids use their imaginations and just play without the constant list of "desired" activities. This was a REALLY good post!

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  12. So agree with you with turning off the TV and just be...Be with a book, or coloring, or toys, or pretend. So important for them. You do have a creative talent, you write!

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  13. Good post and I agree. Love your Creative post.

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  14. Beautiful children! I love that you encouraged your daughters to be creative, and I also believe that you are an artistic writer.

    Julie

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  15. I was one of those parents who didn't like the mess. :/ (Sorry). But now I am determined to be the grandma who lets the grands paint to their hearts content!

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  16. Oops, for a number of reasons I am anti- coloring book. Your creativity is evident in your writing, cooking, cake decorating, gift - giving and more. Personally i dont think any profession requires more creativit y than mothering. Coming up with ideas to entertain, motivate, encourage, arrange social gatherings, fix broken things without tools. Lots of creativity but not all visual .

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  17. I love this and it is so true! I am so glad I always let my daughter join in when we were painting, or gluing, whatever we were doing. She still creates things that blows me away. I love it that she is doing the same with her kids. And you my friend who thinks they are not creative, only needs to look back through their blog and you will find a high level of creativity! You need to write a book about all of your travels!
    until next time...nel

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  18. Well, you are so, so creative, your writings are always so enjoyable! I have the Princess today and she's just finished playing with blank paper and markers and creating lovely Masterpieces for her CiCi. Her parents do such a good job of fostering creativity in her and I'm so thankful. It's close to nap time and I may join her this rainy afternoon. I mean, why not?

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  19. Unstructured time makes children get creative. Electronics has gotten in the way too much now.

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  20. I love this! I think I am a creative person with little artistic talent and am sometimes at a loss with what to do with my 2 year old. A quick look at Pinterest during naptime usually sparks something. Thanks for inspiring me to make a mess with my kid today :)

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  21. All four of the lovelies got the creative genes in many different ways so you can just imagine how messy our house was during the growing up years. LOL I think it was so easy for me to let mine make messes because my granddaddy always said, "The house will be here when they grow up, but they'll only be little for a bit."

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  22. I totally agree. Many a day the Hubby would come home to 'creations' that had taken us all day to make so nothing else got accomplished. Those were the best days. Thanks for reminding me. :)

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  23. http://skootsonemom.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-z-challenge.html

    we're on the same wavelength today...'create' was part of mine today, too.
    I was too late to get into the a-z lineup :(

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  24. I can really relate to your post for the letter C. I have often said that I am not creative, but now that I think about it, I am exactly as you put it. I love to create and I do create all kinds of things; I'm just not very talented. I love to sing, but not only can I not carry a tune, my kids and husband ask me to refrain from singing in the shower.

    I worry about my own kids and their creativity and ability to use their imaginations. They are always glued to their iPads, iPad minis, iPods, iPhones, and other electronics. We had a little bit of bad weather a couple of months ago and we lost electricity for forty-eight hours. My kids were driving themselves and me nuts. Boredom! They do not know how to invent fun, or how to create things or make up fun and games. We were at the beach last week for spring break and the weather was unusually cold. They were so distressed. If we didn't have plans to go out to eat at one of the theme restaurants or to an amusement park, they were so bored. I kept encouraging them to go play in the sand, play kick the can, or make up a game...do something. Make your own fun. We did it when we were kids. You have the right idea, we need to restrict their time spent with electronics.

    Great post.

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  25. Kindred spirits! I really connected with your first few paras





















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  26. You could be describing my gr-daughters! Isn't it amazing to see such wonder in your babies?!

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  27. I've always known we could be great real life friends, but this confirms it. I too am "creative, but not talented". It's ok - the fun is in the process, not the outcome.

    Right?

    It is very gratifying to have children more talented than I. Vicarious triumph is still quite satisfying.

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  28. I have basically no artistic talent and I cannot sing at all. I can't walk in a straight line, let alone dance. I wouldn't even classify myself as a great writer. But I do know that I enjoy all of those things and I will do them whether people like it or not.

    And trust me, nobody wants to hear a tone-deaf girl with hearing loss sing-screaming at the top of her lungs. But they hear it anyways when I want to sing.

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  29. Turning off the telly seems to be a socialy nicety that has been forgotten these days.

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