Brainstorming!

Thomas Edison said, “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”

Easy for Edison to say. The average child today finds it very difficult to come up with a variety of ideas in response to a problem. They are most likely to grab the first idea that pops into his head. That idea will be a borrowed one – usually from television. Kids are told that when taking a test and they unsure of an answer, they should go with their first idea; it’s usually the right one. But in creativity, the first idea is almost always a cliché.

Brainstorming is a key part to the creative process. It’s the best way to think of a whole pile of potential answers to a problem. It also can be tons of fun. Here are some helpful tips:

Brainstorm with children.
Creativity can thrive in a family if the environment is right. It doesn’t have to be a solitary child staring at a blank piece of paper. Brainstorming can be a team sport. As the parent, you take the lead — asking questions, fielding answers, showing enthusiasm, keeping the “what if” spirit thriving. I find sometimes it helps to have more than just a one-on-one with your child. If you can, include other children, either your own, or friends of your child.

Accept all ideas. Make the tone positive. Even if an idea obviously won’t work, write it down or hear it out. That idea may be a stepping-stone to another, more useful answer.

Have a visual focus. It really helps to have something visual to start from. Kids can use it as a mental touchstone as they wander in their minds in search of new ideas. It may be a name of a character on a piece of paper in front of them on the table, or ideas that are listed as they are suggested, or a quick drawing of a character, or a painting as a prompt.

Try some background music. For some children, music can help them focus. (Others may find it distracting.) If it helps, try putting on some fun, upbeat, instrumental music in the background. Music without words can help to create a sense of play without the distraction of lyrics.

Push beyond the obvious.Children sometimes need a gentle, encouraging push to get beyond that first line of over-used ideas. So if you’re all dreaming up names for a super-hero who’s a bear, expect the first answer to be “Super Bear!” Gratefully accept it, then say something like, “Great idea! But what else could we name him?” You could even start by saying the obvious answer: “I bet many of us thought of ‘Super Bear’. Okay. That’s a good idea, but I know we can find more names!” Once your child gets past the initial shock that there might possibly be another answer, they’ll come up with more.

It’s good to show them the progress they made. At the end of the brainstorming session, there should be a range of ideas. You may need to highlight a few that have real possibilities, or you may just want to let them individually choose which ones will work for them. In either case, point out how the later answers are so much more interesting than the obvious ones.

Most of all, remember to make brainstorming fun! There’s an amazing energy that builds in a group as ideas begin to fly. Wherever brainstorming is done, coming up with ideas is a blast!

Adapted from:

http://www.brucevanpatter.com/brainstorming.html