Ten Tiny Ideas
Dream Together Set
A shared space for imagination, where possibilities are explored before judgement arrives. In the Spark stage of practice, we shape possibility together by asking what could this become? Children (4-10) and adults work as creative partners, building confidence through shared exploration and making. There are no right or wrong answers, only infinite ideas to explore. Start with what you have, right where you are.
Practice
Time guide: 5–15 minutes.
As you grow
4-6 years: Treat ideas like quick imagination sparks. They can be drawings, words, sounds, or gestures—anything that shows ‘this could exist.’
7-10 years: Make ideas more specific or unusual. Add detail, combine things, or gently stretch each idea further.
Mixed aged children: Everyone contributes in their own way. Younger children may imagine or act; older children may extend, refine, or record. All contributions are equal.
Start
Before you begin, it can help to understand than an idea is a small thought about what could exist, happen, or be tried. Ideas can be real or imaginary, useful or useless, sensible or silly, tiny or strange. They do not need to be perfect or explained.
Warm up together by asking: What is an idea we already had today? What is something we wish existed? What is something we could change just a little bit
If needed, use quick examples to unlock thinking: a sandwich that tells jokes, a chair that becomes a boat, socks that are allowed to fly outside for five minutes.
Then begin.
Make
Choose a simple prompt together e.g., a game for a rainy day, a creature that lives in your house or garden, a new way to eat lunch, something that could make tomorrow more fun, a made-up world or rule.
Or, choose something already around you e.g., this room, this object, this sound, or this moment.
Play
Set a timer (2 - 5 minutes is a good guide). This is the main part of the practice.
Each person generates 10 tiny ideas. You can: say them out loud, write them down, draw quick sketches, or mix speaking and drawing.
Rules: keep going (don’t stop to think too long), no judging ideas while creating them, repetition is allowed, strange is welcome, small ideas are just right.
The goal is not to choose the best idea, but to unlock many ideas quickly.
Variations
Try different ways of generating ideas: only one-word ideas, only impossible ideas, only ideas involving nature, only ideas that don’t make sense at first.
You can also: set shorter rounds (1-3 minutes) for speed, do multiple rounds and compare how ideas change, pass ideas between people like a relay, make the 10th idea the weirdest or funniest.
Notice
Did ideas get easier or harder as you went?
Which idea surprised you most?
Did you repeat yourself or become more inventive over time?
How did it feel to keep going without stopping to edit?
Practice Notes
Dream Together Set: Designed around divergent thinking and creative confidence-building. This practice belongs to the Spark stage, where the focus is not on refining ideas but generating many possibilities before judgement arrives.
Ten Tiny Ideas
Mode: Rapid ideation, playful fluency, and shared creative momentum.
Where possibility comes from: Possibility comes from removing pressure to be “right” and replacing it with speed, quantity, and openness. Ideas are treated as sparks rather than solutions, allowing creativity to emerge through motion rather than planning.
Creative habit: Generating many possibilities before choosing, refining, or judging. This builds tolerance for ambiguity and strengthens creative initiation.
Practice inspired by: Advertising ideation techniques, divergent thinking research, and creative facilitation methods that prioritise fluency, quantity, and associative thinking to unlock originality before refinement.
Builds
Capabilities (what the practice builds internally): Creative fluency, divergent thinking, confidence in starting, reduced fear of wrong answers, and comfort with rapid idea generation.
Future skills (what the practice develops externally): Creative thinking, adaptability, innovation, and ideation capability (aligned with the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025).
