When my children were really young, in the toddler years and before school age, creativity and exploration of the world was their education. Many programs and events focused on the creative skills – art, music, and dance.
As my children get older, and I look at the materials and programs available to them, there tended to be more focus on academic and intellectual development. I have had to make more of an effort to seek out the programs and events that enhance, develop and nurture their creative side. They are definitely there, it is just more difficult to find them.
In the adult literature, there has been a huge amount of research and writing about creativity, what it is, how to get more, how it will benefit your professional and personal life, how creative people work.
It seems to me that if there was a concerted effort to teach creativity and integrate it more into our education as we grow up, there would be less of a need to re-educate and re-train ourselves as adults to rediscover our creative talents.
[excerpt from my Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented State Conference presentation: Don't Fence Me In - Mastery, Creativity, and Adventure in the Home Education of Bright Children]
You make an excellent point. I write poetry. A great many books have been written trying to help writers get back the creativity of childhood. And yet, I see the same trend in my sons’ school materials that you do. Songs, games, and creative outlets generally fall away as the child ages, only to be replaced by textbooks and workbooks. I’m left to wonder why? And more importantly, at what cost?