To understand how excited I was to have Sandra Merville Hart as a guest on Fireside Talk Radio, you have to know how much I love educating about history through story-telling. Sandra writes some of the best historical fiction I’ve read lately. Her pristine handling of the written word sparks imagination.

Civil War or the War Between the States?

Whether you call it the Civil War or the War Between the States, I bet you’ll enjoy her latest book, A Rebel in My House. Don’t let the romance novel book cover, fool ya. There’s a love story all right, but the story is fast-paced entertainment with dramatic flair is a perfect example of how the written word sparks imagination.

The Written Word Sparks Imagination

Sandra did her homework in this perceptive telling of the battle around Gettysburg, so we can relax. I love it when a fun read educates me. 

To me, this is one of the best uses of imagination: enhancing empathy by letting folks try out other perspectives in an engaging story. My family loves the arts, like the written word, mixed with imagination. Children especially benefit when parents let books spark their own imagination, too.

Raising Creative Kids Takes Parent Imagination, Too

World-class imaginers, my kids and their friends inhabited a world where pirates captured space ships floating in the canal across from our house. Canoes were patched with duck tape until the next capsize. Indians and cowboys defended our tree fort. Kings and queens issued royal decrees to knights prepared to defend honour to the death (by plastic sword).

Sandra endorses being alert to all the ways your creative child may already express their imagination. “I expressed a strong interest in writing as a child,” she says.

To Spark the Creative Urge in Your Child

If you’re raising a natural-born story-teller Sandra shares these thoughts on how to best encourage your creative child’s gifts.

“I would have loved to visit libraries when authors were speaking. Author events at bookstores, museums, or schools might have allowed me to meet others who achieved my dream and encouraged me. Look for writing classes for kids at the library or school,” she says.

Of course, don’t overlook simple encouragements. “If my parents had given me a desk, writing supplies, and a quiet place to write, I’d have been on my way,” says Sandra.

For the Visual or Tactile Child

Art museum visits, painting parties, birthday party at pottery places; Sandra’s imagination begins to tick off ideas about how to encourage the creative child who tends to be visual or tactile.

“What if your child draws cartoons in their free time? Parents can research the creative journey of someone like Charles Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown and Lucy and Linus, to find ways to help them develop his or her abilities,” says Sandra.

Finally, Sandra closes with this wisdom: “Encourage them. Praise their efforts. Allow them to try something new and fail and learn how to pick themselves up to try again. Your attitude makes a HUGE difference.” For more of our interview with this lovely creative author, look for our podcasts on CathyKrafve.com.

We love to hear from you!

What creative adventures with your kiddos exceeded your imagination? Any fails you might share for a laugh? Any creative dreams for the future?

May we pray together?

Dear Father in heaven, You are the great and amazing Creator, with endless imagination. You created us in Your image and we rejoice. What joy to be creative beings as You Yourself are! Thank You for letting us be like You in this. Inspire our imaginations with ideas and plans that will bless our families. Help us model creativity in all aspects of our lives, so our children can prosper. Thank You for gifting authors, like my friend Sandra, and many others to be proficient with the written word. We know You love the written word Yourself because You gave us the Bible. Thank You for those who taught us to read. In all this we are Your thankful people. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

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Cathy Krafve, Texas Columnist, Speaker, Radio Host, and “almost” Author focusing on fellowship in Marriage, Family, and Community, invites your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang.