Creating opportunities for others to explore real materials and real tools is critical to increasing understanding and impact. It does take time to create manageable portions that offer the chance to engage and grow. It may get messy, but the benefit to the brain outweighs any clean up.
Creating requires there to be meaning. Following the directions to create may not. Therefore, whomever is engaged in the learning process needs to share their thinking. Embedding this communication into the programming is recommended. A supportive exchange with peers or mentors or an even wider audience will propel the thinking farther, deeper, and faster due to the authenticity of the feedback.
Creating something that does not currently exist takes energy, time, patience, and risk. It is a process. It doesn’t always end with a perfect, commercialized version, idea, or product. Recognizing the evidence of the journey, the problems, the solutions, and the joys or frustrations puts value into the resilience, the investment, and the foundation for further fulfillment. Celebrate the process over product.
Creativity does not mean perfect artwork or a beautiful singing voice. Creativity is thinking and wondering and risking trying a new idea to see where it goes. When supporting creative thinking and thinkers, the feedback is focused on what can be seen and heard during the process, not whether it is pretty, cute, or fun.