Freedom + Creativity

Today I stumbled upon an article on Psychology Today discussing the correlation between children' s declining freedom and their diminishing creativity. 

School is stifling. School shoves everyone into a box and tells them not to step outside of it. There is no room for creativity within the box and no room for exploring interests. Homeschooling is the first step towards providing my kids the freedom that they need to become more creative. 

My oldest informed me before going to kindergarten that she wanted to be an author. She loved stories, reading, and writing. By the end of first grade she hated writing, and read less. Once we pulled her out of school at the end of her third grade year it took another three years for her to regain her love of writing and deepen  her love of stories. During those three years I had to learn not to recreate school at home, and allow her the freedom to explore and learn in a way that works for her. With this freedom I have witnessed her creativity blossom with every word she puts on a page. Over the past five months as we stepped into the world of self directed learning, Olivia's freedom has increased immensely; and so has her creativity. Not just her creativity of the written word, but creativity in her approach to learning. 

I watch my 10 year old explore science and get excited about it. She is constantly wanting to explore and create new experiments. She would not be learning science to the extent she is if she were enrolled in school. The freedom she has to spend most of her day on science would never exist in a school setting. Yet, it is precisely what she needs and in my opinion what the world needs. 

The world needs kids who think and experiment creatively. My 7 year old spent over an hour decorating the outside of a notebook with her favorite images and stickers. She made a creative mess all over the floor, and exclaimed, "This is so much fun!" She needed this time to be creative. She did not have a time limit. She finished when she determined her project was complete. 

This article reminded me how I am doing what is best for my kids. I am giving them freedom to learn and be creative. Sometimes I need this type of reminder.