With so much hype surrounding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) lately, it’s important to consider that not every child is going to enjoy learning how to program a robot using a smartphone. Some kids just want to dive into the arts and crafts bin, cover the kitchen table with newspaper, and experiment with the right side of their brains.
Creativity for Kids, a Faber-Castell brand, will introduce six new themed Creativity Cans this spring. The cans provide kids ages 4 and up with completely open-ended creative play. With a hodge-podge of creative supplies, such as Tooby Loops, pipe cleaners, textured paper, sticky-back sheets, googly eyes, and foam shapes, kids can create anything they want. There are no instructions at all, no “finished product” end goal, allowing kids to make something entirely unique using the contents of the can. According to the “Creative Nutrition” information listed on the can, open-ended creative play like this has great benefits, such as increasing problem solving abilities and improving self-esteem.
The new themed kits will target kids’ specific interests and will include STEM components, such as architecture and natural science, while still allowing kids to create anything they can imagine. The line includes Build, Motion, Music, Stories, Critters, and Art Creativity Cans, in addition to the original Creativity Can and the Big Creativity Can, which launched last fall.
Parents and kids can even share their creations on creativitycan.com/share. For each submission, Creativity for Kids will make a donation to the LilySarahGraceFund, a non-profit organization devoted to arts and creativity.
The new (and existing) Creativity Cans will help kids crane their necks up and away from their tablets and really embrace their imaginations. In the educational world, STEM is a limited term—and we have to remember to not leave out the “a” for “art” to take kids full STEAM ahead toward a well-rounded toy box.