A human being is set apart from animals on the basis of his ability to reason and think. Most children develop the ability to reason out the best course of action to take even before they begin to speak. These are survival instincts and everyone will have the same end result in mind- to survive and thrive.
Life is more than living day to day
Survive is necessary, but it is not the same as being creative. Being creative is the desire to do something different from the norm. The ability to express what you feel, and do something extraordinary. The ability to think out of the box does not develop on its own. It needs to be kick started and then nurtured.
What does being creative have to do with the homeschool classroom?
A creative child will have an active imagination. The homeschool student who has an active imagination is likely to learn better and faster. Spoon feeding a child everything will not allow them to think for themselves. However giving them a problem and asking them to solve it on their own will force them to think of more than one solution till they find something that works. This is the beginning of creative thinking.
Creative is not isolated
If your homeschool student gets stuck, they should not be afraid to ask for help. The more inputs that they get, the easier it will be for them to find a viable solution. Set up yourself and a bunch of other resources for them to refer to. This takes away the fear of failure and encourages them to keep trying till they find a solution that works and pleases them.
Let them own their failures
As parents we have a tendency to rush in and help when we feel that the child is headed in the wrong direction. That’s not going to foster creativity. Let the homeschool student make mistakes. Failure is often a much better teacher than success. Allow them an introduction to this teacher in a controlled environment where you are available to guide and supervise their actions.
