Episode 16 - The Power of Creativity & Imagination

In this episode, we explore how creativity and imagination help children build confidence, curiosity, and flexible thinking in everyday life. Parents and carers will discover practical ways to encourage creative play, imaginative thinking, and problem-solving through simple experiences at home and in the community.

Creativity and imagination are more than just art or make-believe — they help children express themselves, explore new ideas, and think in different ways. When children are encouraged to be creative, they develop confidence, resilience, communication skills, and the ability to approach challenges with curiosity and innovation both at school and beyond.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Creativity is intelligence having fun.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Welcome to Connecting with Your Kids, a podcast dedicated to helping you cultivate connected relationships with your children while learning life skills.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Hi, I'm Andy McNeely, a parent, educator, relationship coach, and author. And I'm Ash Morfitt, a proud parent, school teacher, and sports coach. Join us as we explore valuable concepts and share practical strategies that will positively impact both children and the adults in their lives. This is connecting with the kids.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Welcome back, another podcast. Yep, here we are, Andy. We're talking creativity and imagination, and it's nice to chat with you again.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

It is good. I really enjoy this. And recording the podcast, getting together for a chat, is just like having go for a coffee and having a chat without the coffee.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

We should do something about that.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Yeah, well, maybe. It's it's just a really enjoyable thing for me, and uh even if we've got no listeners, I still enjoy it. But saying that, if you think this podcast is useful, please subscribe and pass it on, tell people. We want it to grow and to be useful, and we think it is. We're really proud of what we're doing. Yeah, we are and we've got some really good feedback, and we're hoping that it's um really making a difference to others.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Yeah, and we talk creativity and imagination, and it makes me think well, I use ma imagination a lot at school, and I use it a lot with my own kids. And a favourite thing of my daughter and I is to just make up a story together, and we'll do it sometimes. We'll do it like on the weekends in the morning, just sitting down on the couch, and it's a nice little alternative to having the TV on or playing puzzles and stuff. And for us, it's like let's make up a story. I'll start and I'll say the first bit, and then she'll have a go. So she's five years old, yeah. And it's really nice to be able to, it just goes in whatever direction it goes. It's both giving us a chance to be creative, and you might bring in funny bits or not funny bits, but it's yeah, it's using that imagination, and it's a fun way for us to connect the two of us. It's really lovely.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

It reminds me of when I was a kid, when I was a kid, when my kids were younger, and they used, you know, I was very tired at the end of the day working, and they used to want a story, and reading a story was very hard because we used to fall asleep. So I used to just lie in bed with one of them and just say, tell me what story you'd like. And we I just make it up. It's all made up stuff, and they'd like, tell me next day, tell me the same story. I can't remember what it was. Zero chance. And I do this with the kids in class. I say, right, okay, we're getting ready, we've got a few minutes before we go outside or something. So, okay, who's who's gonna choose? Okay, okay, pick a kid, give me a topic. Yeah, and they'll give me a topic, and most often I can just try to make up a story which is kind of linked to real, but sometimes not linked to real. Yeah, but it's a bit of a blend of uh truth and fiction, and it's just good fun, and they love they love hearing that. They really you really connect through the stories. I love it. Yeah, it's good fun. It's good, like you can.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

I know for some of the listeners will be like, Oh, I don't have the like the creative juices to make up a story, you just gotta have a confidence and have a crack.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Yeah, and you do, and I re I noticed when I started doing I wasn't very good, but it's just a practice skill, like all the skills we talk about. Just practice, just have a bit of fun with it, play with it, and then you get better at it.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Yeah. So with kids that have got lots of creativity and imagination, what are the things we like that you notice or that you see, or what the evidence tells us about it?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Sure, look, I I think that kids are really good at coming up with the new ideas or ways of doing things. Um, they're good at solving and inventing and improving things. Um they can picture things in their minds that they that's not happening right now, and they're thinking beyond what they currently can see. So it's thinking into the future or thinking of different ways.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

And could you like what do you think? What's the difference between creativity and imagination?

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Well, it's kind of like imagination, I would say, is seeing possibilities, yeah, and creativity. Um perhaps that's like turning those possibilities into something really useful. Maybe could be. Yep, yep. I don't know, maybe I'm just being creative and imagining imaginative in my description. I'm just making that up, you know. It's possible.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Yeah. And so we certainly notice kids that have those skills are better at problem solving, confidence, improved learning, and that you know, confidence to be innovative. Yep. And you can see it from academic areas, you know, maybe in creative with their writing or reading, but it could be also in the way that they're able to participate in imaginative play with their friends, you know, and that could go. I don't know. I look at kids in the younger years, it's all about imagination and play. But even kids as they go through and get a little bit older, that imagination and can be, I suppose, more spawn creativity where you can get, you know, work on those friendships and things that way.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah, I I I I totally agree with you, and I think what you've said about problem solving is so true. It's not just problem solving in the classroom doing uh a mathematics thing, it's really linked to problem solving. So if you have that creativity and imagination, when you're going through a tricky time with a friend or you can't work something out, you can be creative and think of things in different ways to solve those issues. Yep, yep. Not just the standard, you know, we quite often go back to what we know and quite often what we know doesn't work. So we try it again. For sure. We try it again, right? Why not think of something totally left field?

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, and when you talk creativity, it's not can you write a song that no one's written before or do an amazing piece of artwork. It can be like what you said, finding different ways to solve a solution. Totally. Solve a problem. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

And it doesn't have to be sensible. No. You know, I work with kids sometimes, we come up with some absolutely crazy ideas to help them with problems. You know, like we just talk about they're quite serious problems for the kids. Yeah. But when you make it lighthearted and talk about, well, why don't you try wearing different coloured socks? And they look at you like, what are you talking about? Well, have you tried it before? How do you know it doesn't work? What about if you walked in the door backwards? Would that help? And they think it's a bit weird, but then after a few days, they they that issue they had, they're laughing about it, like, oh, this is quite silly. It's got nothing to do with a real problem, but it's about sort of flipping on its head and having a bit of fun with it and saying, Oh, well, you know, I can solve this. Yeah. You know, it's just doing things differently.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah, yeah. Have you got a quote for us, Andy?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, I have, and it's by Albert Einstein. We all know Al Albert Einstein, famous physicist. Yeah. Creativity is intelligence having fun. And that's exactly what I'm talking about. Dear wearing different socks coming in backwards.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Just have a bit of fun with it. Yep. All right. So each week we to give some ideas to be able to practice the skill. Yep. Some will work, some won't work. Yep. We don't.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Well, there's no expectation that anyone does anything when you're going to tell people what to do. No, we don't, we don't. But you know, you might just listen to one of these and say, I think I'll just give that a try tonight. Why not? Have a bit of fun with one of the kids. Yeah. Well, the kids, you know, just like and it's and it is about building that connection and that relationship. Yep. Yep. You want to kick us off with the first idea?

SPEAKER_02 7:32

I want to do the first one. Make up some campfire or ghost stories to tell each other.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Nice one. Okay, number two. Imagine you won the lottery. What would you do with the money? Discuss.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Nice. You could be so creative with that. Could be nice. I like that. Oh to me. To win the lottery. Uh, number three, lie on the grass and look up at the clouds. Share what images you can see in the sky. Nice one.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

I like that one. Yeah. Yep. Rename the members of your family and your friends. Why did you choose these new names for them? Could be nicknames. Maybe there's some not nice names you can think of though. You can think of one of your relatives, I don't know. Or really nice names, perhaps.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Indeed.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Uh, and our final idea we might suggest to try out. Listen to some different radio stations or playlists, and imagine what the band members look like. Where could they be playing their song? Can you imagine yourself somewhere else as you listen? Nice. Transport yourself away.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

Yeah, cool. I like that. That's nice.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

I often, you know what? It's another little story.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

I'd even thought about this before the podcast today. But sometimes when I'm walking along or driving along and I see a stranger, I'll sometimes think, I wonder what sort of day they've had today.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

That's kind of similar to that. It's like someone you don't know about, I wonder just where they're at or what the what's happening in their life at the moment. Anyway, that's a little insight into my help, into my mind. Yeah, well. Hey, I've got a quote to finish off. Yep. This one's by George Bernard Shaw, who's an Irish writer and playwright and critic. Yep. I'm gonna have to read this out from the sheet because it's hard to get my tongue around sometimes. Yep. Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Oh, that's a nice way to ponder. No. But I like it. I like to ponder. I like I've read that a few times, and I think, well, let's just think about that.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Nice way to finish. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for chatting about creativity and imagination, Andy. It's been lovely. It's been a pleasure, and we will catch you all next time. Alright, we'll talk to you again soon.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Thanks for listening to Connecting with Your Kids with Anthony McNeely and Ash Morfitt.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

The ideas in this podcast are inspired by three books I've written Connecting with Your Kids, Connecting with Your Teens, and Connecting with Your Students. For more information, see the podcast bio.