According to Newsweek, America's creativity is dwindling.  Every year a group of scientists tests a group of kids for creativity, and offers scores - in much the same way that an IQ test scores the kids' intelligence.  Creativity scores increased year over year until 1990, when they started declining.  And have continued to decline ever since.

I have some serious misgivings about the research, the numbers, what they mean, and where they come from.  But these results FEEL true, don't they? 

It feels as if people have become more rigid, less willing to step back and see the big picture, less interested in learning and problem solving and frankly in doing anything other than wasting time on Facebook and watching television.

Creativity isn't some inherent property; it is like a muscle which can be flexed and get bigger and stronger.  Sadly, the opposite is also true - when you unplug your creativity, it withers and atrophies like a couch potato's biceps.

The answer?  Crafts!  There are few better ways to improve your creativity than to engage in a craft.  Crafting engages your mind in solving problems, and in learning new things - from techniques to supplies, it's all about learning.  And the physical act of crafting helps provide those mental open spaces that let your brain run free.

Over-scheduling our kids may well turn out to be the culprit in the downfall of creativity in America.  The answer to this is also clear: give your kids time.  Time without an electronic entertainment.  What better way to do this than by sharing some crafts time?

(This isn't just about the kids, either.  As adults, it's all too easy to focus on the day-to-day necessities of life.  We need to give ourselves permission to, for example, sit down with a pen and a blank sheet of paper and just doodle.)

An illustrated journal is a great place to start.  Draw something you saw today, and write a little bit alongside it.  It doesn't get much easier than that, and yet there is so much power in such a simple act!  Journaling can be adapted to any age, from crayons and fingerpaints for the littlest kids, to watercolors and ink dip pens for teens and adults.

Felt is another good one.  A big stack of felt squares can be turned into pretty much anything you can imagine!  Possible accessories include needle and thread, scissors, Elmer's glue, and stick-on or sewn-on decorations like buttons, googly eyes, rhinestones, sequins, and so forth.

And let us not forget sculpting!  From Play-Doh for the youngest children, to polymer clays like Sculpey and Fimo, and for the advanced creator chunks of proper clay.  I challenge you to unwrap a miniature slab of Sculpey and NOT start creating something with it.  If you want to go big, get the entire family to take a pottery class together, learn to cut and sculpt and mold on a wheel, and fire your creations at the end.  

You won't be sorry, I promise!

Photo credit: Flickr/jimmiehomeschoolmom