Build a Snowman Creativity Prompt
Encouraging your child to be creative doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Simply set out some fun materials, give him or her a prompt or ask a question, and get out of his or her way.
I love setting up creativity prompts for my kids – especially during the cold winter months when we’re cooped up inside. This snowman creativity prompt was a lot of fun.
Last week we made fizzy snow dough science, and they loved it. I thought we’d continue with the snow theme, and try out a play dough prompt this time. I set out the makings for what I thought would make fun snowmen, and let my preschooler freely create.
My goal in this activity was to get my preschooler thinking for herself, creating something unique from a collection of predetermined materials, and then telling me about her product. The process of creating was the lesson – using flexibility of thinking, and getting creative.
I set out white glittery play dough, googly eyes, craft stones, aquarium gravel, and pipe cleaners. You can substitute whatever materials you have at home that would be fun for making little snowmen. For the sparkly dough, I used store-bought white play dough and kneaded in some white glitter.
Sometimes it’s hard to sit back and let your child take the lead in activities like this. I had an idea of what a snowman should look like before she began – you know, three snowballs, in graduated sizes, with eyes, nose, scarf, and arms…
My preschooler had another picture in her head.
I loved that she made hers a sweet and quirky snow monster, then told me all about its history. It was created by a monster family, and was sad because it didn’t want to be a snow monster; it wanted to be a snow kid so people would love it. It wandered away at night when all the snow creatures come to life, and found a nice house to stay at forever. The kids that lived there were so excited to find it in the morning, that they brought out some of their favorite dress-up costumes, and made it into the most adorable, and friendliest, snow-kid ever.
Simply adorable.
Have you encouraged your child’s creativity lately? Why don’t you try pulling together a play dough creativity prompt of your own? You probably have most of the items we used in ours stashed around your own home, or can pick them up easily:
Better yet, grab my new book – Raising Creative Kids: A Collection of Simple Creativity Prompts for Children – and have more than 70 pages of ready-to-go activities at your fingertips. It’s only $5.99 for a limited time, so grab a copy today!
