Sharing time

One of the best ways to nurture children's creative development is to share thoughts with them.

Chat is good!

Swapping ideas with family members, friends, teachers and other people they respect, is both valuable and enjoyable for children. Their fresh, open minds are always glad to gulp down new views and perspectives, and they love to express their own ideas too, and witness the interest on the face of their listeners. In the process, they also develop the knack of selecting words, building sentences and presenting their viewpoints - essential life skills. And here we are at half term: the perfect opportunity to discuss, discuss and discuss!

Which, why, what if...?

So if you're spending time with a child or more this week, you'll be doing them a huge favour by striking up conversations about anything and everything under the rainbow - and why not the rainbow too? What would it feel like, to fly through? you could ask; which colour would you choose to lie back and rest on? If the wind got up, and swept the rainbow away, where might you end up?

Debate the facts!

Or on a more realistic level, but keeping to the rainbow a minute, you could test their understanding of how rainbows are caused, or just swap opinions as to its most beautiful colour. Is it going to rain? Have you ever been soaked through, you could ask? Really? What happened? How did that feel? What's your favourite weather?... and so on. Or swap views about global warming: is it entirely a bad thing? Can it be slowed down? What has caused it?

Down on paper! 

Perhaps it's a bit of a dull evening. Suggest writing a story about a rainbow adventure before bed? Or a letter to the paper about global warming? Or a poem - in the shape of a rainbow - for the teacher? Too much like hard work? A rainbow picture, then, with a special word stretched over it - streaky, melty or shimmering, perhaps, or words to describe its sweeping, arching shape, or its mysterious way of appearing, hanging, fading.

Well, I've got rather hooked up on this rainbow, but of course any topic, especially an interesting, open-ended, or many-sided one, would be wonderful. You (if you're the adult) needn't say much. You can play prompter and listener. 

Kate