Creativity is an essential skill in our changing world. Children need creativity just to succeed in school—just think of all the projects our little ones are assigned from kindergarten on up! How would they manage to tackle those assignments without creativity?

But creativity isn’t just the purview of the school-aged child. People need creativity when they get into the job market, regardless of what type of work they get into. People who demonstrate creative problem-solving skills often get raises and promotions.

Some people believe that creativity is innate; either you have it or you don’t. Not true! Instead, think of creativity like a muscle. Some of us have developed that muscle, and others just need help training it. For children, developing that creativity muscle is all about offering opportunities for creative play experiences.