Creativity and imagination are fundamental parts of early childhood development. Creativity can help children develop a wide range of skills and boost social interactions and emotional development, while imagination can help foster creative, physical, and cognitive development. Through engaging in imaginative and creative play, children learn about the world around them and see things from many different perspectives. Below is a list of fun games for kids that you can do with your child at any age!

Games and activities to foster creativity and imagination in kids at each age range:

Toddlers (12 months to 2 years)

Messy play

This is a time of open-ended exploration of materials and their properties. You can step back and let the child lead the experience of exploring different materials through their senses. Some items will be readily available in your home, while others can be easily obtained. Here are some examples of items that are perfect for this type of activity with your child. 

• Modeling clay is a great way for kids to work on their fine motor skills, learn about colors, create shapes, and let their imagination run wild. 
• Shaving cream is another great texture kids love to play with. Place some in a bowl and sit with your child as they explore this material. For added fun, mix in some food coloring. 
• Water beads need a bit of preparation. First, place them in a bowl with water. Then, build the excitement by checking in on them with your child and watching them grow. Once they are full size, you can hide little toys or figurines in the bowl for your child to find, provide them with a spoon or ladle to scoop them up, and invite them to use their hands to dig into the beads to experience the texture of the beads and the water. 
• Cooked, cooled pasta or rice is a cheaper alternative to the water beads and can be used in a similar way. It has the added benefit of being edible and safe for small children to put in their mouths! Try adding food coloring for effect.
• Sand is a great creative material for younger children. It can be used dry or with some water added. Provide your child with a variety of containers and utensils to encourage imaginative play.

Music and singing

Provide your child with opportunities throughout the day to listen to music, make music, and sing songs. Music can be a powerful tool for fostering better emotional understanding, including times when your child might be feeling energized or relaxed. A fun idea is to make homemade instruments for your child to explore, out of a shoe box and string (guitar), a paper towel roll (flute), or a kitchen pot (drum). 

Preschool children (3 to 5 years)

Adult-led storytelling 

Retelling your own childhood stories and acting out stories with your child with puppets or stuffed animals are great ways to stimulate your child’s imagination and creativity. 

• You can change up the story! Have your child choose a book and look at the pictures, making up your own story together rather than reading the book. 
• Listen with your child to their favorite Moshi track and then act it out with puppets or stuffed animals.

Art

• Sit down with a piece of paper and make use of colored pens, pastels, crayons, or finger paints to get creative with your child. Sing songs while you color or paint to make it a fun experience for both of you to bond over. 
• Try creating a collage with your child. All you need is some glue, child-safe scissors, and magazines and newspapers. Start by cutting pictures or shapes out of the magazines and newspapers, and then glue them all onto one piece of paper. 
• Dry erase markers are great for drawing on almost any kind of surface.  For example, you can draw on a glass surface, and then wipe it clean with a wet cloth. 
• Sidewalk chalk is a great option because it can go anywhere, enables you and your child to spend time outdoors, and is washed away by the rain.

Pretend play

Pretend play allows children to experiment with a variety of different roles. In pretend play, children may use one object to stand for another—for example, pretending a spoon is a telephone, or a bowl is a drum. 

• Baby dolls are fantastic and age-appropriate ways to build pretend play. Your child might go through a daily routine with them using real food or pretend food, take them to visit the doctor using a doctor’s play set, or dress them up in a variety of outfits. 
• Having a dress-up box is a wonderful way for your child to discover the world of pretending to be someone else. They might enjoy acting out a known character or making up their own character. 

School-age children (5 to 10 years)

Storytelling

Telling your child stories and reading them books are excellent ways to help them develop their own storytelling imagination. Try encouraging your child to come up with new endings to stories, or to tell you what might happen next when reading a new story. 

Construction play

Help your child build cubby houses with cardboard boxes or drape a blanket over some chairs or a table. Encourage them to bring their animals and toys into the space to play with. You could bring in flashlights and pretend it is a sleep-over!

Outdoor play

There are so many activities outdoors that will stimulate your child’s imagination. For example, you can create a nature scavenger hunt with your child by helping them to locate various aspects of nature and check them off of a list.

Coloring 

Coloring pages for kids provide endless possibilities for exploring coloring. You can use preprinted coloring pages or books, or print out an image of your child’s favorite TV character, Moshi moshling, or animal. Then lay out the crayons, markers, and colored pencils. You might also sit next to your child and color a picture as well in order to model the skill.

Baking

Put on your apron and get out the spatula. Baking is a fun activity that children can participate in after a school day or on the weekend. Working together, bake your child’s favorite cake, muffins, or cookies, and then allow your child to decorate, encouraging them to express their creativity and ideas. 

What caregivers can do and say to promote creativity during play

There are many ways that caregivers can help children develop creativity and imagination through play. It is important that adults model for children how to engage and have fun with kids games and activities. Modeling refers to showing children how to do something and then allowing them time to practice. For example, if your child is learning how to tell stories and you and your child are building things together with plastic bricks, you could model by telling a story about a character and setting related to what you are building. Then, invite your child to tell a story about what they are building. You may need to provide your child with some support throughout this by suggesting an idea or asking questions about details that are needed.  

Allowing your child to choose which activity they would like to do is important as it encourages their autonomy. All children love to be in control of the situation and this is especially important for building confidence and independence. Create opportunities throughout the day where your child can choose an activity from among two or three options that are appropriate for the time of day.  The process of choosing in itself can be a creative activity for your child!

Kaylyn Smialek

Kaylyn Smialek is an expert behavioural therapist at Moshi Kids. She currently works as an Early Intervention consultant in London, United Kingdom and has a background in teaching, behaviour and special education. She has worked with families and children for over 10 years as a qualified special needs teacher, homeschool teacher, special needs tutor, and behavioural therapist. Her experience ranges from working in clinics, schools and homes in the United States and across central London. Kaylyn is passionate about social emotional learning and early intervention in childhood development and her daily practice with children and their families focuses highly on developing skills through using play-based learning in naturalistic environments.