How to: get creative at home!

How to: get creative at home! Developing new skills and hobbies is a wonderful way to further support your child’s learning. Stuck for ideas? Read our blog with top tips from our teachers and ideas from some of our colleagues for creative outlets that children of all ages can enjoy at home.

Developing new skills and hobbies is a wonderful way to further support your child’s learning. Stuck for ideas? Read our blog with top tips from our teachers and ideas from some of our colleagues for creative outlets that children of all ages can enjoy at home. 

It might be challenging to come up with new ideas for fun and educational things to do at home, but with a little bit of creativity, the possibilities are endless. Today we’re sharing just a few hobbies and projects suggested by our teachers to inspire your child. We also hear from some of our Nord Anglia parents who share the ways their children are keeping entertained at home.

1. Being artistic

There are lots of different art forms your child may not have tried before which are fun, get them thinking creatively and can be on show around your home afterwards to celebrate their great work. If you have access to some outdoor space, why not pick some flowers, learn about the different species and try pressing or drying them to decorate a room at home?

Alternatively, for younger children, try a challenge: what can your child make using recycled materials? Students at British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park, were recently asked to create flying cars using recycled materials, a task which was met with huge enthusiasm and some very creative solutions.

At BIS Hanoi, Ms Kate Fitzpatrick is also calling all students to do the Pobble Challenge. This week, she chose to do the Junk modelling challenge where she collects junk materials to create some creative thing! Ms Fitzpatrick will share with us the result soon. 

2. The big screen

There are lots of different ways film can be used to get your child thinking creatively…

3. Get musical

Music is a great learning aid and needn’t be limited by lack of instruments. Online tutorials can help your child practise or learn an instrument digitally, online tools can help with creating of new music, and song writing is an excellent way to refine musicality. Have a rising star at home? A musical can take any day at home from normal to Oscar-worthy. Making up a storyline, writing a hit song and performing it for the family is great musical theatre practice and entertainment for all involved.

4. Create a challenge

A fun way to get thinking out-of-the-box and stay in touch with friends is to start a challenge which asks everyone to take part. Try one of these ideas:

• Choreograph a dance, get the whole family involved (if they’re willing…), and encourage your child to share the video with their friends for them to learn and film responses to.
• Feeling fancy? Hold a digital dinner party. Your child can nominate their friends to share their favourite recipes, cook each other’s suggestions (with support where needed), and sit down to share a virtual dinner together.
• Develop a quiz. Share some categories and encourage your child and their friends to think of a few questions each. Utilising any video platform, Skype for example, your child can enjoy a quiz with their friends whilst learning about some new topics or knowledge-testing the subjects they are covering in class.

 

5. Photographer of the Year

 It’s not often that we sit back to appreciate or explore the things we have right on our doorstep, so this is a great opportunity to get your child seeing their surroundings with new eyes. Get them thinking by setting different photography challenges which encourage them to explore the garden, the local area or different elements of the home. What’s the best photograph your child can take of a family member, the household pet or a flower in the garden? For older students, draw on inspiration from those they follow on social media, for example, or photos they can take to document a particular hobby they have. A blog could be an interesting next step…

If this was useful, we’d love to hear from you on social media. We’ve got plenty more ideas to share with you and we’d love to hear how your kids are getting creative at home too!