Theatre Arts Training shares three fun activities to build creativity and imagination — read on
Article by Ellie McKay
When you’re stuck inside, bring the fun indoors through creativity and imagination. We checked in with our fun experts in our Education department for some playful ways to pass the time as a family.
For Your Crafter
Before the next trash day, snag some clean recyclables to craft some characters from your child’s favorite book. See if you can retell the tale using your puppets. It’s okay if you can’t remember exactly what happens — feel free to change and tweak the details to make it your family’s own take on a classic.
Tips from our puppet pros:
Toilet paper rolls make great legs
Aluminum cans are sturdy heads (make sure to blunt those sharp edges)
Bottle cap eyes are perfect
Fabric scraps, ribbon, and yarn are all you need for some final touches
For Your Storyteller
Follow these steps:
Grab two paper bags, a pen, and some scrap paper.
Tear your paper into 5–10 pieces. Write an emotion on each piece of paper. Put the scraps of paper with emotions on them into one bag.
In the other bag put 5–10 interesting items from around your home.
Have a family member select a scrap of paper at random and have another family member select an object at random. Announce to the group the emotion and the object (ex. The Happy Stapler). This is now the title of a story your family can tell together.
How did that object become that emotion?
For Your Improviser
Follow these steps:
Choose 2–3 differently shaped items from around the house (a ruler is a great object to start with).
Each member takes a turn to silently use the object to act out a completely different object. For example, you might use the ruler as a fishing pole, a tooth brush, or a microphone.
The rest of the family then guesses what was being acted out.
