By Volunteer Sana Shaikh, FHI Mumbai
One of the fascinating things of a child’s mind is its natural ability to think beyond the norms of this world i.e. out-of-the-box. Unlike an adult’s mind, a child’s mind is more flexible and creative, which can be honed to bring out many talents.
As a volunteer, I would love to help children realize and pursue out-of-the-box thinking. When we encourage a child to think out-of-the-box, we are giving them the message that the sky’s the limit and that there are different ways to approach a situation. One way to do that is by providing regular opportunities for children to think creatively. Creativity plays a big role in encouraging them to be receptive to innovation and invention along with being open to alternatives when learning, solving problems and facing new situations. Furthermore, this will help children explore more sides of themselves, which will help them as adults. Different creative activities teaches a child many ways of thinking out-of-the-box.
Some of the creative activities that can encourage children to think out-of-the-box are:
Reading comics
Story-telling
Enacting a play with on the spot topics
Drawing and painting
Arrange random objects to create new and creative shapes
Clay modeling
Rangoli
Simple science experiments
Asking them open-ended questions without promoting them
Making own toys like sock-puppets, paper boats etc
As the activities are being conducted, it is important to let kids have their time for the said activity their way without interfering in their thought process. Volunteers must let the kids explore themselves through the endless possibilities each activity has.
Here’s to thinking out-of-the-box, endless possibilities and a creative life!
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