Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Philadelphia, PA

This week's Savvy Expert article highlights a subject I spend a great deal of time thinking about: how do I nurture and protect my daughter's natural creativity? For instance, just in the last week my husband picked up a coloring book that prominently features the Little Mermaid. Suddenly, my daughter, the kid that explores every inch of the page when she draws and paints, is trying to color within the lines.

Gulp.

I don't know why that makes me panic; it's perfectly fine to honor my daughter's current mermaid obsession (sigh). I restrict her access to the Disney; she's seen clips of the songs but not the actual original movie (I am so not down with the whole "give everything up for your man" philosophy of the movie) but she still insists that I not refer to her as "Tori" but instead as "Mermaid." 

I like the suggestions that the Savvy Expert articles makes, but I have certain dilemmas. For instance, my house is pretty small. I don't have a "create and get dirty" spot that is available all the time; I couldn't possibly. It would take over a quarter of our living space (and trust me, my kid takes up PLENTY of our living space already). So I have to be sure to set aside time for things like Play-Doh and paintings and drawing. She of course has access to blank paper for painting and drawing so that she can't always draw within the lines; but I still want to encourage her to create her own stuff, not follow someone else's rules.

This summer she'll finally be old enough to start attending some local art, dance, and sporting classes (she'll be three in June). Will regimented activity like that help her creative pursuits or simply channel them into a specific course? I really don't know. But I know how much she loves creating, so I will do whatever I can to foster growth in that area and keep her from people that tell her she's doing it "wrong." She's such a bright little bugger, I do not want her inner light dimmed.

What do you do to keep your children's creative juices flowing?