Cultivating Creative Kids
story time
GOOD BOOKS FOR BIGS AND LITTLES.
I first read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron when I was in my early twenties. At the time I was working in publishing and living in New York City, and I was pretty unhappy in my life (I know, it sounds so good--but it wasn't). As I went searching for clues about how to change my life's direction, I came across Cameron's book. The Artist's Way had a huge impact on me at the time, and so I was excited--just a few week's ago--to see The Artist's Way for Parents on a re-shelving cart at my local library. (Have I mentioned I love the public library? See my post here about how to use resources at your local library.)
The Artist's Way is devoted to helping people discover (or re-discover) their creative impulse and The Artist's Way for Parents is no different. I found the introductory pages of The Artist's Way for Parents insightful and relatable, in particular Cameron's discussion of the very real time constraints parents face and the mental barriers they have to making time for their own creativity. She also makes great points about how parents can model creative practice for their children. Importantly, Cameron not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. She shares her experiences raising her daughter as a single parent, while pursuing a career as a writer. He daughter, now grown and a parent herself, wrote the introduction to the book.
You may be thinking, "That's great, but I'm no artist," but Cameron's message is bigger than that. She shares, for example, the story of a new mom with a highly successful career as a fitness guru, who suddenly stops exercising because she feels the need to give all of herself to her child. I think many parents can relate. Suffice it to say, your "art form" as a parent, as a person, can look a lot of different ways.
I'm always a fan of concrete tips and suggestions, and Cameron offers many of these. To begin, she discusses her basic tools, and I want to share a bit about these here.
Photo by Justyn Warner on Unsplash
The Morning Pages
The Morning Pages are an integral feature of the Artist's Way (and, I suspect, float to the surface in many of her other books). The idea of the Morning Pages (MP) is that the parent begins each morning by writing three pages in longhand (no typing). The exercise is a "brain drain." The quality of the writing doesn't matter. It's OK if it's whiny or self-pitying. Perhaps most important for parents, it doesn't even matter--she writes in this book--whether you finish them. It's about establishing the practice.
I have a toddler who routinely wakes up at odd hours, so my first thought about the MP was: This is never going to happen. To some degree I was right. I haven't had many mornings, especially on weekdays, when I've been able to complete three full pages. It has been really nice, though, to at least try to start the day with my own thoughts.
Cameron advocates the MP as a way to express ideas and solve problems and--though this isn't explicitly stated--resolve the anxiety of keeping up with the constant demands of parenthood. So far, I'd say it's helping.
Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash
Creative eXPEDITION
Cameron also advocates a weekly parent-child adventure, an idea I love, and one which mirrors the advice of The Artist's Way to make a weekly Artist's Date. Expeditions are chosen, planned, and taken by the parent and the child together, and focus on activities that inspire creativity.
One of the best things about Cameron's style of writing is that she provides activities to help readers brainstorm. For example, she asks parents to list activities they enjoy and places they would like to visit, and then to think about how they could incorporate their children into these adventures. In next week's post, I'll talk about specific ideas for activities from The Artist's Way for Parents.
Photo by Peter Feghali on Unsplash
Highlights
Highlights is a daily bedtime ritual in which the parent and child share their favorite moments of their day. I was excited to read this advice because this is something my husband and I already do with our kids. It was a practice that I began at the dinner table because--in all honesty--dinnertime was such a disaster every night. It would begin with the toddler screaming and/or throwing food onto the floor, then the older toddler would start reprimanding or pouting, then one of the parents would yell or simply drop their head into their hands in ultimate resignation. I decided we needed to turn our frowns upside down.
The life of a young family too easily shoots by in a blur, much of which is "have to's" like getting obstinate toddlers to put on socks or cutting food into tiny morsels only to have it thrown on the floor. It takes conscious effort to turn our minds away from these things and to recall the moments of joy and wonder that have happened to us during the day. Cameron makes the case that awakening to this wonder is an integral step in awakening the inner artist, both in ourselves and in our children.
In the Classroom
Though the Artist's Way for Parents is written for, well, parents, I think many of the lessons are equally applicable to teachers...maybe even more so. Teachers have the opportunity to foster creativity in their classrooms, but they also risk the danger--like parents--of having their own creativity sapped by the unending demands of caring for and educating many children. Rituals like completing daily journaling in the classroom or building in "the best part of your day" could be ways to build the culture of creativity in the classroom.
Do you have ideas for staying creative as a parent or for fostering creativity in your children at home or in the classroom? Share them in the comments section below!
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