For most of us, gifted children and creativity go hand in hand. Not all gifted children are creative. A child can be very gifted at memorizing things which requires no creativity. Yet all creative kids are gifted because creativity opens the kids’ minds to lots of opportunities.
I think parenting requires creativity. Not all parents master parenting. Some parents are not very creative in their philosophy and actions. But that does not mean they cannot develop that creativity, that drive and flexibility to search for, and find that switch in their kid’s brain.
In my last “Gifted Children” post, I shared an assignment our 11 year old daughter, Noff, had to do for school. Mr. Martin was very impressed with her work and showed it to all the teachers and even the principal. In a way, he turned on Noff’s switch. She was so “switched on” that she would get up early in the morning to work on her assignment.
Art is a very easy and cheap way to find out kid’s gifts. At our house, Noff, is a very visual girl who loves colors. Art was a great way to turn her “on”.
Three weeks ago, I started a piece of art and Noff was really excited and wanted to try as well. As we always have canvases and acrylics at home, she took a canvas and started drawing as well. She picked a picture which required a lot of patience. She was very excited and got up really early each day so she could keep going on her drawing.
We do not have any way of telling if she will turn this into a passion but we sure know now that it makes her excited. She has asked me repeatedly over the last two weeks to buy her lots of canvases for the school break. Gal and I are very happy to watch her and to introduce her to something different.
We are very proud parents. I hope this story will give you the inspiration to introduce your kids to art as well. This is Noff’s painting on the left. I wanted to steal for our room but she said she wanted it for her room.
May the light shine on you!
Ronit
This post is part of the series How to Raise Gifted Children:
- How to Raise Gifted Children: Let there be light
- How to Raise Gifted Children: Find the switch
- How to Raise Gifted Children: Switch-Finding Rules
- How to Raise Gifted Children: With Art