Turning Boredom into Creativity

By now, during this Coronavirus or Covid-19 crisis, many parents are probably learning the most important piece of what goes into teaching and learning; LISTEN/OBSERVE & ADAPT/ADJUST.

I mean it. Adjust. And if that means lightening up, letting go, do it. Especially now. We all need to give ourselves a break.

Acknowledge you're all bored, tired, stressed, trying to come up with ideas. In fact, explicitly acknowledge that last piece. Coming up with ideas is akin to creativity. Trying to no longer be bored CAN spur more creativity.

Here's a great idea: Have your kids think of what they could do to help in this crisis. Have them write or present those ideas to the rest of the family. Discuss those ideas. Evaluate them How viable are they? What would be needed? How many people would that help? Come up with more questions.

The kids can do a lot of this, on their own.

Now you are teaching about a current event, AND also fostering creativity, self agency, discussion skills that lead to more inquiry & consideration, the critical thinking skills of evaluation.... as well as teaching kids they can tolerate boredom and what can come of it when it happens. (For more on thinking skills, see my blog So What is Critical Thinking?.)

During this difficult time, we are presented with considerable needs and demands. Let's help our children and teens learn how we can cope with and meet those needs.

Now you're teaching one of the most important lessons we all need!