Courtney is my play idol! My first meeting with Courtney Watkins was on the set of The Possibility Shop at Henson Studios last year. Can you say “creativity overload”? She’s like a 10 year old in a grown-up body and when she starts talking you just start going along with what she says. That’s why she’s the perfect hostess for online webisodes of Henson’s The Possibility Shop on DisneyFamily.com.
Her show is for the adults in your family. It empowers parents and caregivers to laugh and play with their kids by giving grown-ups SIMPLE (and sometimes wacky, silly, crazy) ideas on WHAT to do and HOW to do it. WARNING: Once you start watching the episodes you may not be able to stop! I keep clicking on the clips and it’s taking me 5x the normal time it takes to write up a post!!
Here’s what I asked Courtney on your behalf:
Q: How does nature play a role in The Possibility Shop?
A: Nature presents a zillion possibilities for games (hiding places, forts, bases), materials (berries, snow, milk pods) and inspiration (shadows, clouds, wind) . I spent every possible moment outside as a kid playing Kick the Can, baseball, designing gnome homes, building snowmen, climbing trees, playing shadow tag, imitating bird calls, considering cloud shapes, feeding berries to invisible mice that lived under the garden shed. Oh, my friend Megan and I would have funerals for locust shells. I wish I had a recording of the “service”– I can just imagine what we said. I know there was a lot of well-wishing and thank you’s for being a “good bug.” When I’d play by myself in the yard, I always kept one arm flat on my back – always! That way if the trees came to life and reached for me I’d feel their branches right away and be able to get away.
Q: What are 3 simple, everyday things parents can do to encourage creativity in their kids?
1. Ask open-ended questions where your child can form an idea or state an opinion or investigate. And follow it up with a WHY prompting your child to really dig deep into a thought process.
- What if you could add one more season to the calendar, what would it be and why?
- What if you were the principal of your school, how would things change and why?
- Can you invent a new cereal? How is it different?
- What would you put on a giant, blank billboard for all to read? Why?
- What color is the sky? (It’s not just blue! Have your child record observations at different times of day for a week. A surprising array of answers. In fact, the question becomes, What color isn’t the sky?!)
2. Be goofy, silly, funny with your kids. The Ha-Ha of laughing quite often leads to an Aha of discovery! Watch your child’s expression change when they see mom/dad in a new light — using a goofy voice, twirling through the living room, initiating a spy mission at the grocery store… “Be on the look out for anyone wearing green and take note of the items in their cart!”
3. Keep creative materials in one place and easy to get to so that when inspiration strikes you’re ready to go! An art closet, a basket, a box, a shelf designated just for creative supplies — from paper, scissors, paints to odds ‘n ends found in the junk drawer, on nature walks and scavenged from the recycling bin.
Big thanks to Courtney for taking the time to answer my play questions! Check back tomorrow for more answers and more playful inspiration.