Whether we notice it or not, many of us are looking for ways to think more creatively and bring that creativity into everyday life.
We see it in the posts and reels we scroll through: people repurposing household items, substituting ingredients in recipes, growing food from kitchen scraps, sewing blankets from worn and loved clothing, and finding new uses for ordinary things. These moments inspire the thought, “Maybe I can do that.” They also open the door to another powerful question: “If that is possible, I wonder what else could work?”
Sometimes we do not realize how much creative thinking we already use in our daily routines. We adjust plans, solve small problems, make substitutions, invent shortcuts, and find new ways to use what we have. Creativity is not only a skill for artists. It is part of how we move through work, family, learning, and everyday challenges.
As adults, daily demands and routines can make us forget how necessary creative thinking is. When that happens, it can also become easier to overlook the importance of creative flexibility for children. This is one reason the idea of “learning through play” matters so much.
When educational opportunities are rooted in play, children practice flexible thinking. They test ideas, make choices, adjust rules, solve problems, and imagine new possibilities. Parents and educators can support this by noticing not only what children are playing, but how they are thinking while they play.
Even in play, adults sometimes step in quickly with rules like, “That is not how you use that,” or “That is not how the game is played.” There are certainly times when shared rules matter, especially in group play. But there is also value in pausing before correcting. What happens if we ask, “How else could this be used?” or “What new way could we play?”
One way adults can practice and model this is by revisiting familiar childhood games with a creative twist.
Take Candy Land, for example. Instead of using only color cards, players could use color words, color mixing challenges, or even create a life-size game board with construction paper or foam squares. Chutes and Ladders could become a greater-than/less-than math game. A matching game could become a storytelling game. A bingo board could become a scavenger hunt, an art study, or a prompt map for creating abstract art.
The same idea applies to arts and crafts. Painting does not always require brushes. Surfaces do not have to be limited to paper or canvas. A sponge, stick, toy car, feather, cardboard tube, or piece of fabric can become a creative tool. These small changes invite children to ask new questions, make decisions, and experiment.
This kind of creative flexibility is at the heart of Art stART DRAW. The goal is not simply to make something that looks good. The goal is to practice beginning, adapting, experimenting, and seeing possibilities. When we invite children to play with prompts, limits, materials, and rules, we help them build the kind of creative thinking they can carry into art, learning, problem-solving, and everyday life.
For more ways to invite creative thinking into everyday play, check out the Art stART DRAW Foundations Bundle or the Art stART DRAW: Beyond BINGO digital download.