My 4 year old got a ton of army men for Christmas. The little green plastic guys. Plus tanks, planes, helicopters, trucks, plastic barb wire fences, and most important, guns.

He plays for hours in his room with them. I hear him up there, making up stories and making bomb noises. I find the men lined up on window sills, hiding in drawers, crawling under the bed, in ordered lines on the shelf in the closet. Where does he get it all from? TV? I can't think of any army movies we've seen. Is it just part of the collective male unconsciousness, some a priori knowledge little boys just come with?

Wherever it comes from, I encourage and praise it.

What makes kids creative? Here's an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about it -- and here's a little something else about how our schools are lacking  in the creativity department.



How do you encourage creativity? What are some of your favorite sites?