Embarking on a summer adventure? Facing a lengthy drive with the kids? Summer road trips present a golden chance for families to connect and enjoy quality time together. Dive into these games designed to spark creative thinking, ensuring everyone stays entertained and fully engaged throughout the journey.
What are Creative Thinking skills?
There are four components to creative thinking - Fluency, Flexibility, Originality and Elaboration. Creative thinking is important because by focusing on childrens’ ability to problem-solving and innovate, their adaptability, collaboration and personal fulfillment will increase as well. The following games center heavily on the skills of Originality and Elaboration.
Originality is about coming up with ideas that are new or different from what's been done before. It's like adding your own twist or flavor to something, making it unique and fresh. Elaboration, on the other hand, is about expanding on your ideas and adding more details or depth to them. By doing this, we're encouraging kids to think outside the box, come up with their own unique ideas, and then build on those ideas to make them even better.
1. Story Building Game
How to Play: One person starts by saying a sentence to begin a story. The next person adds another sentence to continue the story, and so. The story can turn into a wild and wacky adventure as each person contributes their part.
How this Helps my Child: This game promotes elaboration by adding onto the story to help form a cohesive narrative. Originality will happen naturally, along with some laughs, as you see your story become wackier by the sentence!
2. Would You Rather
How to Play: One person starts by posing a hypothetical question that requires a choice between two options. (i.e. Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?) Discuss why each person would choose one option over the other. Then pick new options and play again!
How this Helps my Child: By focusing on the constraints between the two options, elaboration becomes key. Working to fully explain their reasons, your child will grow this elaboration skill through their justification. At the same time, children may need to think originally as the choices get wackier. When you’re faced with either a fish head and human body, or a human head and fish body, the reasons why one choice is picked truly is unique!
3. Silly Sentences
How to Play: One person starts by saying a word (noun, verb, adjective, etc.). The next person says the first word and adds a second. The game continues seeing how silly the sentences can become.
How this Helps my Child: Yet again, lean into your child’s silliness! The wackier these sentences, the more original they will be. Also to add little words that help string the idea along and allow your child to elaborate.
4. Rhyme Time
How to Play: One person says a word and the next person has to say a word that rhymes with it. This continues until someone can’t think of a rhyme. Then pick another word to rhyme.
How this Helps my Child: Although this game may take some more mental energy than others, the opportunities to elaborate on a sound are impactful. Not only will your child be practicing their phonics skills, they will also be working to grow off of this common sound. You can support their originality by allowing your child to come up with nonsense words. Not only is this fun and silly but it is great practice for early readers, sounding out unknown words based on the root sounds it contains.
These activities not only provide enjoyment but also foster divergent thinking, collaboration, and interaction within the family. Have a fantastic journey!
Resources and References:
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/394800#:~:text=The%20enhancement%20of %20creative%20thinking%20is%20based%20on%20the%20following,flexibility%2C%20originality%2 C%20and%20elaboration.
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