Over the past two weekends, I conducted several workshops for parents and children on creativity and critical thinking.

I was delighted that the slots at these workshops were snapped up so quickly. This is a testament to the growing number of young parents who are involved in their children’s education, and want to learn with them.

Here are a few activities that both parents and children can do during the year-end school holidays! These activities enable you to spend quality time together while igniting your creativity:

Clay Creatures

Dabble and experiment with clay to make clay characters. You could even have a theme, like underwater creatures or pre-historic creatures. Take it a step further and bring these characters to life. You could take turns with your child to interview one another’s characters.

If you’re looking for good quality, non-toxic, pleasant smelling playdough, check out Tickle Your Senses Playdough¹. These come in different colours and with different moulds as well.

Co-Create A Story

There are many ways in which you can create a story together. One way would be to each write a sentence on a piece of paper and exchange papers, continuing from the sentence. Carry on this process until a full blown story emerges on both pieces of paper.

If you need story ideas, a good resource to check out would be Rory’s Story Cubes². Each side of the cube or dice has an image. You could roll the cubes randomly or pick which cube you would like to use.

Explore Museums With See-Think-Wonder

Visiting museums could be fun and enriching if there is a systematic way to look at and appreciate the exhibits. The

“See-Think-Wonder”³ Thinking Routine hails from Harvard University ’s Project Zero. It is a simple and accessible approach that can be used by individuals of all ages.

Basically, the routine goes like this:

See- What do you see or observe in the exhibit?

Think- What do you think about your observation?

Wonder- What question do you have about the exhibit?

It trains us to pay attention to details and have more in depth interpretations of our observations. This versatile routine can also be applied to advertisements, posters, pictures, and even books!

Think Of New Inventions

With the use of recycled materials like cardboards, gift wrappers, or empty bottles, create an object together that would be of use either to yourselves or someone else. If you’d like to do some research, you could find out more about problems that people are facing and generate ideas from there. This activity is guaranteed to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in you and your child.

Have fun learning and creating with your child!