Creativity with the non-creative kid...

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I'm finding myself to be more and more creatively inspired - living in a house with a husband and a son who are both incredibly literal and non-creative is driving my urge deeper and deeper in

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I don't describe myself as creative - not in the popular/traditional sense where one is imaginative and designs things from scratch.

I AM creative though - I like design and conceptualised visual stuff - I like the set 'look' of things. And I borrow heavily from other sources - I copy madly, I steal ideas, they aren't mine but does that matter? I'm not selling these as my own production beyond my own sweat and blood and tears in them (because I'm also not tradie gifted LOL).

I also am not an imaginative person - which is where some of my personal 'mummy guilt' comes from with Sam - I'm not demonstrably imaginative with him - and he's very non-imaginative - and I wonder if I could / should have been more so (although the older George gets the less I feel guilt - because George plays with cars and imagines planes and brm brms and has imagination - so maybe it's not me, but Sam?) ... I have puppets and act out stories with them sometimes, or do like you do "Hello, I'm an owl... hoot hooooot", pencils and paper? I let the kids draw with them, right now G is into drawing - but I see that as colour and texture and material exploring rather than art per se.

I see loads of stuff about fairy gardens or toddler art or whatever - and I know it's all staged - I've yet to see a single kid at any playgroup etc actually do this stuff with even a smidge of competence before the age of about six. Don't beat yourself up - the mummy bloggers lie - they are doing this, staging it, taking the photo... or taking the artwork off their kiddo and photographing it before the kid is finished (or doing it so tightly with them... that it's their own work not the kids) etc. Mummy blogs and pinterest etc are good for ideas to try (because this sort of creativity isn't in me - I copy :P) but expecting results like you see photographed is unfair. Celebrate the fun of making the mess instead. And kids don't 'get' what they are doing (or care?) for another couple of years anyway.

I celebrate each of Sam's (rare) pictures (scribbles) - they get put on the fridge and talked about (not what they are - because he doesn't tell me - but what colours are in them - because that is what excites him). I give him ready access to art materials (on request due to G being able to open bottle tops etc - paint EVERYWHERE hell no!) and I set stuff up for him occasionally. His favourite "creative" activity is mixing colours - droppers and food dye in water. Whatever rocks his world I say.