CREATIVE CHILDREN; Arts Open Young People's Minds to Thinking outside the box.(FAMILY TIMES)

Byline: Karen Goldberg Goff, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Paint and glue, crayons and markers, even scraps of cardboard and an old egg carton that look like everyday junk can become the tools for children's creativity. Children can scribble, paste and pretend before they can articulate effectively and write, so it is important to give youngsters opportunities to express themselves in those ways, says Susan Striker, a Connecticut art teacher and author of the book "Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving Skills, and an Appreciation for Art."

"It is very crucial to give children opportunities for art in the early years," Ms. Striker says. "It sets for the child a pattern of thinking in creative ways, or not, in thinking, speaking and writing."

Though not every child will end up as another Pablo Picasso, any youngster might find the spark to be anything from a writer to an inventor to a chef if given open-ended opportunities to create, says Carolyn Callahan, a professor of education at the University of Virginia.

"I would say all children are creative on some continuum," says Ms. Callahan, associate director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. "All children are inquisitive, but some are more flexible to new ideas. Unfortunately, we don't know who the creators will be, so we need to encourage creativity in all kids."

In Jane Morrison's Alexandria home, that means letting daughter Eleanor, 6, "make a mess."

"We have paper and pencils all over," Mrs. Morrison says as she drops Eleanor at a weekly art class at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town. "You can't be a neatnik and be creative. I have paint on the walls and markers on the floor. We also play dress-up and read stories. It all fosters the whole creative …

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Publication information: Article title: CREATIVE CHILDREN; Arts Open Young People's Minds to Thinking outside the box.(FAMILY TIMES). Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: November 24, 2002. Page number: D01. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group.

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