The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: garden journal, inspiration wire, craft show, Resource Guide, Family Drawing Time, Nature Table (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Embraces a new way of living that will engage your children’s imaginations, celebrate their achievements, and help you to express love and gratitude for each other as a family.”—Living Crafts Magazine

“Give your family an injection of creativity with this inspirational book.”—Kindred Magazine

“The Creative Family will make life with your children rich, full, imaginative, and fun beyond measure. This book is a recipe for joyful parenting and a joyful life. It's a gift for both your children and yourself. I loved it!”—Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education and author of Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times

“Amanda Soule has created a wonderful guide that nourishes the wellspring of creativity already inherent in the family dynamic. She encourages discovery, ingenuity, sharing, and celebration in a way that helps each family member grow, while simultaneously bringing the whole family closer together. A truly meaningful book for and about that which we hold dearest.”—Jeffrey Yamaguchi, author of 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everday Creativity

Product Description

When you learn to awaken your family’s creativity, wonderful things will happen: you’ll make meaningful connections with your children in large and small ways; your children will more often engage in their own creative discoveries; and your family will embrace new ways to relax, play, and grow together. With just the simple tools around you—your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials—you can transform your family life, and have so much more fun!

Amanda Soule has charmed many with her tales of creativity and parenting on her blog, SouleMama. Here she shares ideas and projects with the same warm tone and down-to-earth voice. Perfect for all families, the wide range of projects presented here offers ideas for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations.

This book embraces a whole new way of living that will engage your children’s imagination, celebrate their achievements, and help you to express love and gratitude for each other as a family.

To learn more about the author, Amanda Soule, visit her blog at www.SouleMama.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Trumpeter (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590304713
• ISBN-13: 978-1590304716
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,195 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > By Topic > Creativity
  #5 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Family Activities
  #34 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Family Relationships

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For your child... and your inner child, April 23, 2008

By	Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You may think this is an arts and crafts book. But really, it's a parenting guide. Though it's filled with things you can do with your children, it also brings out the kid in you, and in the process helps you become a better mom or dad. The activities involve getting dirty with your kids, going outside and finding things like cool leaves and bugs, or drawing with crayons. Most are best suited for families with preschool- through elementary-aged kids.

The book is divided into four sections, each with three chapters:

Part One: Gathering
1. Preparing Your Creative Mind
2. Gathering Materials
3. Being Resourceful

Part Two: Playing
4. Encouraging Imagination
5. Supporting Your Young Artist
6. Sharing the Tradition of Handmade

Part Three: Living
7. Exploring Through Nature
8. Capturing Moments
9. Everyday Rituals

Part Four: Connecting
10. Celebrating Your Family
11. Handmade Holidays
12. Creative Connections

At the end of the book, a six-page resource guide lists other books and websites on the same topics.

Even though my daughter is 14, we both found this book worthwhile. For example, we set up a Nature Table. Before, all the tiny miracles we brought home in our pockets ended up in the trash. Now we have a spot. At the moment it has a handful of seashells, three skate egg cases, some hot pink sea whips, an orange sponge and a sparkly rock she snared last week on a trip with her dad out to the Grand Canyon.

93 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A really sweet book about celebrating your family, April 5, 2008

By	MamaG - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Creative Family" is really, very simply, a sweet, gentle, and dear book on family traditions and togetherness.

Most of the ideas in this book were not new to me. In fact, much of it could be written about my actual family life. If you are familiar with the Waldorf tradition, and books such as "You are your child's first teacher", "The Children's Year" and "All Year Round", "Heaven on Earth", or some of the other little "Waldorfy" craft books out there, then many of the ideas in "The Creative Family" will not be new to you, either.

But I don't think that "being new" is the most important thing about this book. I think that it is really fantastic that Amanda Soule has taken many of these tried-and-true (perhaps less well-known/mainstream) ideas about parenting, family life, and creativity, and blended them together into one simple, easy to read, compact and easy to reach for, updated resource.

The photography is really beautiful, and the projects are all simple enough to be done by a pre-schooler (some with more help than others).

This is more than a project book, however (in fact, I would not even describe it as being a project book). It is more about a way of life -- taking a step back, learning that a "no" really can be a "yes," and so on. Her thoughts about toys were excellent -- again, exactly what our family has already practiced since our first child was quite small -- but, in observing so many of my friends with young children, ideas that would help many an overwhelmed family learn to say "no" to too much stuff.

I was most inspired by her tips on art supplies -- a good comprehensive list of supplies, along with tips on their storage. It's one thing that I don't think we had a good system for before, and I will definitely be incorporating some of her ideas into our life.

This book is a gem. It's small and simple. It suggests simple steps that any family can take to make their lives more family-centered and joyful.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A sweet book, but a little disappointing., November 14, 2008

By	N. C. "NC" - See all my reviews

I thought this was a sweet book, and a pleasant read. Amanda Soule is a wonderful writer. I was a little disappointed that there were no new ideas presented here though. I felt like I was reading the same Waldorf family book I've read several times before. People say "everything has been done before", but I feel that authors can still incorporate new ideas or put their own twist on things. I did not see this here.

I was also disappointed with the craft projects. Aside from the fact that many were the same projects found all over the internet and in many other craft books, I found that most of them were projects geared towards adults with small touches added by children. I was expecting more projects actually for children, or where children played a much bigger role.

I think this would be a perfect book for someone who is new to Waldorf and Montessori philosophy and was looking for ways to incorporate these philosophies into their family life, or for someone who is looking for a simple, pleasant read paired with beautiful pictures. If you've been involved in simple family living for quite some time and are looking for something new, I would look elsewhere.