Tinkering

What happens when we allow kids to tinker?

“Every child posses a creative spirit that will either blossom when nurtured or wither if stifled.” –Lisa Daly & Miriam Beloglovsky 

The other day I was out at my brother’s garden checking out his new irrigation system that he was installing. As I was watching him tinker around with hoses, I began thinking about how I have watched him tinker with things his whole life. His mind never stops being creative.
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Since he was young, he has always come up with a new project to dive into. My mother never told him he couldn’t – she always allowed him to explore the possibilities. Like the time he wanted to take a part an old computer, he was not discouraged. Looking at him today, at the age of 25, I believe that is why he has rebuilt a truck, designed an organic garden including putting in a water system, is now rebuilding a classic car and the list goes on.

How I do I believe that relates to school? 

“I sometimes like to tinker with poems that have failed, ones that I have set aside. Even years afterward, I will revisit them if there is something about them that I cannot give up on.”
​-John Barton
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Tinkering, creating and making – it is not something you only do with scrap materials or electronics. It is something you do with writing, math, science, cooking, etc. Every moment of every day we are presented with opportunities to create. Once we have opened our minds to creativity, it ends up pouring out of us. It seeps into every aspect of our life.
 
When we create a space where students feel supported enough to create, it opens their minds up to unlimited possibilities. They begin to see the possibilities in every thing. When we can foster that kind of creativity, it gets transposed into other areas too. For example, they look at a box and see a rocket or a car, it no longer is just a box. Or a poem is no longer just written for a grade, but becomes a work of art.
 
I truly believe when we open the doors for creativity in our classrooms - like maker spaces, creation stations, and tinkering corners – our students begin to see unlimited possibilities in everything. The creative piece of them becomes a part of who they are and they embrace it. They allow it to flow into all subjects.
 
Your daily schedule might be full but I encourage you to find time in your day to embrace creativity – whether that is once a week or every day. Allow creativity to naturally flow into other subjects as well. Find moments to point out creative thinking in math or writing.
 
Most of all, take time to encourage the creative process.
 
Until next time,
Jackie