I recently read the book, Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners by Cindy West. Lots of great stuff in there. Perhaps my biggest takeaway was her advice regarding creative children. She advised to include your creative child when making plans. Let them play a part in the planning process
This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Lists, Schedules, and Plans… Oh my!
Some kids love being given a list or a schedule, and will diligently AND happily go along with your plans. Some will not. Especially, if they are creative. This has been a dilemma for us since the beginning of our homeschool. When you have an outside the box kid, you may need to approach things differently.
I’ll be honest, I read Cindy’s book a few months ago and haven’t implemented the “include your creative kid when creating plans” idea yet.
However this past week, I was creating a “to do” list for myself. Actually, in an effort to tame the technological beast, I was just moving said list from my phone to a pen and paper checklist I could tape to the fridge and not have to rely on my phone as much. (Because, inevitably when I go to check my list, I end up distracted and forgetting why I got on my phone in the first place!)
I digress. As I was making my list, I thought for the kids’ writing assignment that day, they could make their own lists and design them to their liking. They obliged and enjoyed it!
For my creative child, there were pictures and colors. And laminating.
There was also pushback after this list was done and taped to the fridge.
Creative Compromise or Big Mistake
For the first few days of using the list (which BTW were the same core tasks that already had to be completed every day – but at MY prompting), there was unhappiness and even some anxiety. I wondered if I had made a mistake. I mean the list was pretty long. Maybe we bit off more than we could chew.
But on day 3, low and behold I heard the words, “I like the list.”
GASP!
SUCCESS!
And can I just say it’s been amazing not to need to nag? It’s been delightful actually.
The novelty may eventually wear off, and that’s ok. The point is to remember to bring my creative child into the planning process. And also to remember that sometimes the kids who hate structure the most, still want/need it. Their structure may just look different than we think it should.
How do you work with your creative child to create more calm?
Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels
