My five-year old and I hosted a cooking show a few weeks ago. The Zoey + Mom Cooking Show had award-worthy viewership of 54 people on Instagram. Watch out MasterChef Junior, we make one killer quesadilla.
One of the core values in our family is being intentional in our God-given creativity. You can often find us having dance parties, doing Dollar Store art projects, or playing the sound effects game—quick, ask your son to make a tiger sound.
But it wasn’t always this way.
The simplest definition of creativity is “the act of making stuff.” All I was making during my kids’ toddler days was a lot of lame rules to try to keep my household and sanity in order.
Often times my then toddler-aged kids would invite me to play, and I would be too tired to go on imaginative adventures or grab that messy paint off the shelf. I didn’t even clean up those breakfast dishes, and you want me to clean up that potential paint explosion on your face?
I was in a season of self-imposed mom guilt with Pinterest failures surrounding me.
I LOVE being a mom, but life with littles was wrapped in exhaustion for me. Is this how it was/is for you?
There I was stifling their God-given creativity because of my weariness and to-do list. Good news, mamas! There’s a solution, and it’s surrendering your schedule to Jesus.
Holy Spirit took me through a season of showing me what it could look like to pursue rhythms of simple, God-breathed creative adventures with the kids.
Turns out I didn’t have to have a sparkling clean house or be the Pinterest Queen with the craftiest projects in all the land. I just had to notice the routines in our day and invite my kids into making stuff within that.
The pressure was off, and the fun began!
I’ve found that being intentional to foster creativity in your home will help nurture your child’s passions, their childlike wonder, and creative expression. Whether it’s doing a science experiment together, telling jokes, or cooking quesadillas, you’re making stuff while making memories and strengthening your relationship. Talk about a win-win, you creative ninjas, you!
Here are three easy-breezy things you can do to build a culture of creativity in your home:
- READ
Reading strengthens the imagination and makes you smarter. Find the pop-up books in the library, read through choose-your-own-adventure books together, or introduce your child to your favorite book from your childhood.
- EXPLORE
Getting outside and exploring the surroundings can connect you to the beauty of God’s creation. From the ant trail to the sunset, take time with your child to celebrate the wonder all around you. Bonus points if you make a scavenger hunt in your yard and do that alongside your kiddo.
- EXPRESS
During family devotions or Bible study, have your child paint a picture or draw what they are learning or feeling. By doing this they are learning how to communicate their thoughts through art. Plus, it’s really fun!
Cultivating God-given creativity in your home is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. Fight through the weariness and mom guilt (Jesus can help with that) and ask Holy Spirit to show you where the creative adventures are.
You’re creating space for your kids’ dreams to grow, space for them to explore while nurturing their talents and God-given abilities. Creating space for your child’s creativity to develop is foundational for them to flourish.
Now go and make stuff.
We could all use a little child-like wonder in our life, couldn’t we? Click here for 31 creative challenges to do with your kids.
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Jenny Randle is the author of Courageous Creative and an Emmy-award winning video editor. Jenny lives outside of Syracuse, New York with her husband and two young children. Together, they share a deep love for strawberry gummies and spontaneous dance parties.
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