Creativity

I have been reading the book, Different Minds by Deirdre Lovecky. This book is geared toward twice exceptional gifted children, or gifted children who have an accompanying disorder.

Chapter Five: Finding Flow: The Wellspring of Creative Endeavor has some suggestions on enhancing creativity. This is helpful for all gifted children so I thought I would summarize the suggestions.
1. Have quiet places where children can retreat to daydream
2. Creativity depends on both divergent and convergent thinking skills. Children need to develop both.
3. Creativity is correlated to big-picture thinking. Children may need help in making connections to larger themes or issues.
4. Creative work has often been inspired by witnessing the pain and hardship of others. It is okay for children to see age appropriate issues and develop their empathy.
5. Creative work can be used to overcome obstacles. Use your creativity to bolster a weakness or embellish a mistake.
6. Special interests can lead to or impede creativity. Computer games, Pokemon or Game Boy are not creative activities. Limit non-creative activities and spend more time on open-ended activities.
7. Much of the research on the early lives of creative people suggests that reading is an important activity.
8. Adults should model their own creative work. Discuss the joys and hardships of living a more creative life.
9. Have adults work with children to help them get started on projects. Let them see that the process of flow in doing something creative, feels good.
10. Help creative children who never finish anything by selecting one of their ideas to work on.

"Gifted people who are creative do not stop being creative, even if they achieve little in the way of recognition. It is not recognition that makes them creative but their own inner connection to their material. The process of becoming one's whole self, of using all of ones' potential to benefit oneself and others, should be the goal of gifted people." (Lovecky, 2004)