Nurturing Creativity: Strategies for turning a home into a ...

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For the Moore-Gordon family of Bothell, Wash., getting creativemeant first turning off the TV. Then, to fill the void, momMary-Leah posted a list of alternatives ("build with blocks," "bakesomething," "play dress-up") by the television.
"When the kids would ask if they could watch TV, I would point tothe list," says Mary-Leah. "Pretty soon, I didn't have to point -they just looked!"
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SPACE
Kids need a place to be inventive, and these families have foundclever ways to give them the room they need.
- The West family of Kissimmee, Fla., painted their kitchencabinets with chalkboard paint so their kids can draw and playgames while Mom and Dad cook.
- The Tomeos of Denali Park, Alaska, turned a hallway into an artgallery, complete with chalkboard paint–covered walls andclips for hanging kid art. The chalkboard wall is a place forreminders, quotes and drawings by Emma, age 4, and Will, 2. "A pailof water and a sponge are all it takes to wipe the wall clean andstart again," says mom Martha.
- The dining room of the Lins' Dyer, Ind., home serves as a craftstudio for their 4-year-old. "Ella's projects cover the walls, thetable is set with paintbrushes instead of silverware, glue andscissors instead of plates," says mom Jennifer. "But the smile onher face every time she shows her work to family and friends isworth it!"
SHOWCASE THEIR WORK
Many parents understand the link between creativity andappreciation.
- As Danville, N.H., mom Nancy Steenson puts it, "It's so importantthat kids know we value what they've made." To put this belief intopractice, Nancy hangs her daughters' drawings where the family canreadily admire them: on a pair of clotheslines strung in front of alarge bank of windows. "It really does boost their self-esteem,"she says. "And I couldn't think of anything prettier to put up!"
- The Dillons of Maple Valley, Wash., take a similar approach. Theydisplay their children's art in elegantly mismatched frames - manyof which were donated in response to an ad on the Web siteCraigslist - in their guest bathroom. "We'd moved from New York toWashington," says mom Melissa, "and I thought it was a nice way topay homage to the famous New York museums."
HAVE AN ONGOING PROJECT
To keep her kids inspired year-round, Jill Odom of Oak Hill, Va.,lets them create seasonal displays on a wall near their playroom.The girls pick a holiday, then Jill helps them make a giant papercutout that they decorate over several weeks or months. Last year,for example, they made a Thanksgiving turkey with individuallydecorated construction paper feathers and a July Fourth LibertyBell festooned with glitter-glue fireworks and paper stars. "Thekids love having a project they can work on anytime," says Jill. "Ilove that it keeps their creativity flowing without me having tocome up with new ideas all the time."
JOIN IN THE FUN
Evanston, Ill., mom Elizabeth Curry knows the secret to inspiringher seven kids.
"If I sit and paint and don't say anything, it's a guarantee thatthey'll want to get out their own paints," she says. "Things alwaysseem more fun if someone else is doing them."
To stay creative even when they're away from home, the family oftenbrings their painting bag - a canvas tote filled with paper,watercolors, palettes, brushes, containers, and bottles of water -on trips.
"We've painted at the zoo, the botanical gardens, the beach, andeven on vacation in the Smoky Mountains!" says Elizabeth.
PUT UP PROMINENT CANVASES
Want to coax the artist out of your child? Take a cue from thesereaders and encourage your kids to think big.
- Erin Johnson of North Branch, Minnesota, hangs huge sheets ofpaper in her dining room for crayon murals. "When the paper isfull, the kids are excited to start over with new paper and have afresh place to display their creativity," she says.
- Melissa Angel of Romulus, Mich., doesn't fence in her children'sartistic expression - but she does cover a fence with paper forpainting outdoors.
MAKE ROOM FOR MUSIC
Years ago, the Hausens of Lewiston, Idaho, made a stage for arock-and-roll birthday party, setting up lights, a sound board,amps, guitars, and drums. After the party, they moved everything tothe basement, where the stage became a permanent fixture. Over theyears, they added a keyboard, chimes, cowbells, costumes, and evenrows of seats from a local movie theater that had gone out ofbusiness.
The Hausen kids, Meghan and Max, are grown now, and both aremusically inclined.
"That crazy stage, which started as a party prop, turned out to bea constant opportunity for learning, experimenting, and encouragingfamily togetherness," notes their mother, Kymberlie. "A bonus tobuilding a rock-and-roll stage set in your basement? You alwaysknow where your kids are on Friday and Saturday nights!"
GIVE THEIR ART A SECOND LIFE
Cheryl Dorweiler of Palm Harbor, Fla., found a cuddly way todisplay her son Westen's artwork: she turns the characters he drawsinto quilts, pillows and plushies. To make them, she enlarges thedrawings to create a pattern and uses it to cut out cotton quiltingfabrics, which she sews together and stuffs. Westen's pictures haveinspired such creations as a turtle-shaped quilt and a large pillowof Violet from "The Incredibles." As Cheryl puts it, "Just becauseit's drawn on paper doesn't mean it has to stop there."