{the gift of creativity}

photo credit

due to my new found love of craftiness...i am more aware of encouraging creativity in my children. i love to create. i am inspired by so many things in life.
my family.
music.
magazines.
books.
people.
nature.
laughter.
friendships.
blogs.
you name it. there's inspiration in it.

i want my children to be creative. to enjoy life. to live outside the box. there is so much to learn and explore.

i have a very fond memory from my childhood. growing up our neighbors built an addition to thier house. this allowed for lots of leftover wood and nails. my friends and i took the leftovers and built all kinds of things.
signs.
stairs.
frames.
chairs.
whatever our little minds could create with a couple of 2x4's and a few bent nails.
we used these things in our awesome clubhouse which was just a little nook inside a group of trees. we swept the dirt floor to make it more accomodating. we hung the signs to let others know to KEEP OUT...i mean it was a clubhouse for goodness sake!

i want my children to grow up with the same kind of memories.
i don't want them to grow up with a list of movies and tv shows they loved (although there is nothing wrong with that in moderation).
i want to give my children the gift of creativity. i can do that by making sure they have the resources and opportunities to create.
i want to inspire them and be inspired by them.
i want to live this life to the fullest with them.

i read this article from Art House America and was totally inspired and motivated to encourage my childrens creativity. Hopefully it will do the same for you.

and p.s.... i need some ideas! so please share how you encourage creativity in your children!

please.
and thank you.