Cultivating Our Creative Spirits

This is part of creative exploration right?  

I've noticed a trend lately when it comes to the time I spend with my children.  We get busy.  We get rushed.  We spend a lot of time in the car, rushing to and fro.  Preschool, gymnastics, Girl Scouts, kindergarten, doctor's visits.  The time that we are home is often spent cleaning up messes, putting out fights, calming crying kids, and "getting ready" for some kind of activity.  I feel as if I'm always trying to maintain a sense of order instead of slowing down long enough to just enjoy the moments.  And I'm realizing more and more that this kind of living is something I need to be conscious of in order to change it and do the things that help to cultivate and enrich our creative spirits and to be more fully present in the joy that life has to offer...even when life is filled with what feels like limitless "go here, go there, do this, and do thats".

This week of spring break has been a reminder to me of the way things used to be before my kids started school.  We'd spend the day painting, mixing, finding uses for every cardboard box we found, and letting our imaginations lead the day.  I had the art easel and box of supplies up in the dining room and I did all I could to encourage  creative exploration.  We painted rocks, gathered pine cones, created little people out of popsicle sticks, and made castles out of the couch cushions.

This kind of creative exploration and living not only helped us feel more energized and enjoy each other more fully, but I could see how it enriched my children's life in other ways.   They were always coming up with ideas and asking new questions.  As a teacher, this is the stuff that makes me most excited!  To see children create, explore, and question their surrounding world!  Filling my days with creative activities like painting, exploring, scientific inquiry, and experimenting with different art media is not only enriching for my children, but for myself as well.  These things inspire ME to open my creative spirit and break down those ugly mental blocks that make me feel CREATIVELY Constipated!  They also inspire me to feel more open to new ideas, creations and writing possibilities.

Today at the Portland Children's Museum, I was reminded just how much I love it there! I love everything it stands for and all the stimulating and enriching opportunities for open-ended exploration, inquiry, creative thinking, and imaginative play.  We used to go once a week and I hope to start this routine again.  Yes, it is crazy sometimes but I think that the enriching experience it provides for my kids far outweighs the inconvenience and exhaustion it sometimes causes for me.

A huge "Light Bright".  This kept this little guy busy forever!

Some of my big mother goals:

1. To bring back creative exploration in our daily lives and finding new ways to cultivate our creative spirits (and really figuring out what this means for me!)
2. Allowing our "messes" to just stay where they are more often and making more time to "Live, play, explore, imagine, and create"!  Life is too busy as it is and if I don't make a conscious effort to slow down and pay attention to what is important to me, I could easily get lost in "managing" the life around me instead of "Playing in the game".  
3. Have a set time where we try out new projects or let our questions lead us to new activities.
4. Bring back 1-2 days a week where we have "NO T.V days"...none! Movies, shows, etc.  I'm not quite sure what happened to those days but it used to be that T.V was only allowed on maybe 2 days a week.  Now it seems like it is on every afternoon after my oldest gets home from school.  It has become a bad habit.  Don't get me wrong, I think t.v definitely has a place for me as a mother who needs breaks and my kids need to just "zone out" sometimes too!  But I do think that there are many things that can take the place of television and also help to enrich their minds and creative thinking that can be just as fun for them as a movie...the key is finding things that will still give me a break when I need it.  
5. Remind myself that the days with my kids are numbered and the day that they are no longer "kids" will come faster than I will ever know!  Make the most of it! 
6. Continue to create Balance in my life!  Taking the time to cultivate my creative energy and personal goals is equally as important and necessary in order for me to be the best mother I can be! This means taking "breaks" from my kids and not feeling guilty about working hard towards my goals with running, writing, etc.  

1. What are some ways that you cultivate your creative spirit?  


2.  If you're a mother, what are some things you do to encourage creative thinking and imagination?  Projects, games, activities, art ideas, etc?  


3. What are some of your big Motherhood (Fatherhood) goals?  

Amanda