[Jagriti55] We are ALL Creators: 🐣

Creativity means we have the ability to create. 

And we can create anything. We can create - in ourselves - worry, calmness, fear, understanding, confusion, clarity, complexities, simplicity and ... choices. 

In that sense we are all creators. 

Creativity means we always have a choice.  

Creativity is then about every moment, since we create every moment of ours. Wisdom, values, beliefs, decisions, opinions, thoughts, feelings, happiness ... all are created by us.
In that sense we cannot not be creative.
So the question is not WHETHER I am creative - the question is HOW am I creative.

So WHEN i realise that child would anyhow CREATE his or her own life - then what is my role, how can I value-add to this creative process.

And this is where we need to EXPLORE:

• Collecting (knowledge, awareness, ideas, opinions, concepts, skills, details, etc using various resources like 5senses, experiences, books, internet, people, etc all without any judgement)
  
• Imagining (play and fool around, let-go, dance with reality, enjoy diff views and point of views)
  
• Constraints (create / do the same thing with different constraints) - the idea here is to challenge, to push out of comfort zone, to close the obvious so that we get into the habit of Experimenting.

And just in case you're still with the *eraser situation* lets explore it more right now:
 

    

Collection:

1. I would start by first collecting (making a list of) what all I can collect in this situation. So this situation for me is related to happiness, temptation & attractions, friends, gifts, stories, sensorial appeal, greed, stationery, possessions, likes, trust etc.
2. Now obviously I need not do collection with the child on each of these right away - I can do one or few of them now and some later and some maybe not in this situation.Also collection here can be done in many ways.
   
3. Maybe both of us can talk about what all tempts us.
4. Maybe both of us can write down who all are our friends in this world (humans, animals, things, concepts, events - anything can be a friend)
5. Maybe both of us can draw all the gifts we have received in our whole life (obviously my list would be much longer)
6. Maybe we could find stories and TV shows or movies where interesting stationery and tools were used and could guess why people liked to possess them.
7. Maybe we could interview our friends and neighbours and relatives in what part of their life they want to be trusted.
8. Maybe we can go to a physical or virtual shopping mall and look at the sensorial appeal (graphics, words on packaging and ads, design elements, tactile quality, taste and smell enhancers, etc) of various products.
9. Maybe we can together click pictures of things or people or events that have made or are making us feel happy.

I am doing these collections not to teach anything to the child, but to MYSELF explore and understand any of the concepts, for I know all these concepts are like sunsets that VanGogh kept visiting 231 times.

Imagination :

1. This is the PLAY zone and children by design are playful - so this one is perhaps more for me!
2. To start with we can together just play with all the stationery and books and other stuff the child has in his bag or table and cupboard. We can make towers or designs or models or simply run around silly with them
3. We could do theater or puppet shows with the various stationery objects the child and I possess.
4. We could scan the child's room as well as my room from the point of view of a beggar or superman or Virat kohli or a favourite relative etc.
5. We could film the objects on our table (role play) as if they are telling a story or doing a dance etc
6. We could visualise the character of different objects if they became humans or the other way round if humans around us became stationery objects, what they would be and other details.
7. We could draw them based on different points of views
8. I am doing this to open up ourselves to receive my inside (ideas, feelings, thoughts etc) and outside (events, objects, people, etc) with an open, enlarged and recharged mind.

Constraints :

1. We value-add to mine and the child's thinking by putting constraints - we create more choices for ourselves and each other.
2. I can start with some obvious constraints like I'm not allowed to worry about stealing and lying and fixing the child and that I cannot talk or do anything related to my worries (that I have to digest them inside me as they are only mine).
   
3. Or put some silly simple constraints I can put on myself like I cannot talk or I have to sing or draw or act to my child the whole day?
4. We can also come up with physical constraints like cannot use pencil to write, eraser to erase, cannot scale to draw or measure and so on
5. Similarly social constraints like we will make hand made gifts for everybody in child's and my circle of friends and relatives
6. Mental constraints like both have to keep a balance sheet of what we give and what we get 
7. and so on -  I am putting these constraints to create possibilities and choices for both of us.

Remember this is not a linear process, rather we're moving in and out of our collections and imaginations and constraints to create a vibrant life of exposure, learning and assimilation. both for myself and the child.

warmly

Aditi-Ratnesh  (Ph: +91-98450-45833)

Aarohi is an Open Learning Community for learners of all ages: Open to all kinds of interests, abilities, styles and content areas. Learning by doing what one wants, how one wants, and self reflection. Community to co-live, co-learn and co-support each other. Aarohi's Campus is in a village near Hosur in Tamil Nadu (55km fm Bangalore).
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