In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Sue Shellenbarger wrote about what makes kids creative. In the article, “A Box? Or a Spaceship? What Makes Kids Creative?” Shellenbarger gives excellent suggestions for parents on helping their children think creatively, make creative choices to solve problems, ask open ended questions and create a non-judging environment in which “out of the box” ideas are safe.
My favorite part of the article was a sample of a creativity test created by Mark A. Runco and E. Paul Torrance, Professor of Creative Studies and Gifted Education at the University of Georgia. I thought it might be fun to ask you these questions (before you read the article and see sample answers) to help stimulate your creative juices or see where your juices need to be stimulated!
1. Task One: List all the things this figure could represent:
2. Task Two: List all the things this figure could represent:
3. Task Three: List as many square things as you can think of.
4. Task Four: List as many strong things as you can think of.
5. Task Five: Name some things that move on wheels.
After writing your answers down, I would invite you to read “A Box, Or a Spaceship? What Makes Kids Creative?” to see the sample answers and brainstorm about ways in which you can stimulate creativity in yourself, your family, and your students.
