Creativity- There is always more than meets the eye

What do you think of when you hear the words creativity in the early learning setting?

Often the first things that pop into our minds is painting and play dough!

But what about the amazing block constructions, the sandpit mud cakes, the inventive recycled material creations, the imaginative drawings, the fun dancing and retelling of events and stories?

Creativity is everywhere when teaching and learning with children. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to children and creativity. Over my many years of teaching, a lesson that I keep getting shown by our wonderful children is that creativity is simple and within all of us!

Creativity is a way to express our ideas in new and fun ways. It is a way to make imaginative ideas become a reality. We get to explore our ideas and discover different ways to solve issues and to think outside of the box.

Children do this every day so naturally as shown in the example above of a multi-level garage made of blocks and pieces of wood. They do not stop to think and over analyze their spontaneous thoughts or ideas. They just go ahead and put their idea or thoughts into action through original ways. Unlike us "grown up's" who will over think and not use what is around us to express our ideas or thoughts. We often limit ourselves before we even get started.

A child does not say: "I want to make a city with all these things, but wait that is a silly idea, would milk bottle tops and lids really work? What will everyone say and think?"

Children just get inspired in the moment and then use their creative thinking to make their ideas and thoughts a reality as shown below.

Through this intricate process the child experienced turning his imaginative idea into a reality. There was plenty of problem solving and designing that went into this mini-city allowing the child to use creative thinking to come up with this unique and original creation.

It is important to note that creativity differs from and for each individual child and person!

We can use James Rhodes framework to explain further. He identified four "p's" that influence creativity. These are person, process, press and product:

• "The person covers information about personality, intellect, temperament, physique, traits, habits, attitudes, self-concept, value systems, defense mechanisms, and behaviour."
• "The term process applies to motivation, perception, learning, thinking, and communication."
• "The term press refers to the relationship between human beings and their environment."
• "The term product refers to a thought which has been communicated to other people in the form of words, paint, clay, metal, stone, fabric, or other material. When an idea becomes embodied into tangible form it is called a product."

I'm hoping that by using this framework you will gain a deeper understanding of creativity and begin seeing that we all express our creativity differently and that is OK! Some children may prefer visual arts others may prefer something more physical.

Expression can be through various materials and what is available in the environment. (Hint, hint to ensure you and your team set up an inviting and abundantly open-ended resourced environment for children).

The process is important not the end product! The learning, thinking, motivation, perception and communication is far more important than what the end product looks like!

The product is the child's idea that has come alive and tangible. Take the time to get the child to explain their thinking process, ask specific questions about what they have made and what is its purpose. Sometimes they may answer, other times they may not but it is important to encourage children to communicate their learning and thinking process. And for goodness' sake please do not over question! Just pose a simple open question as children are often able to articulate their thoughts more than we give them credit for!

When you and your children think creatively, you go through the process of considering situations from innovative perspectives and develop an open-minded mindset. Using creative thinking allows generation of new ideas, interpreting situations, identifying themes and designing alternatives to existing modes of operating.

Having an open mindset is one of the best life skills to have.

If we want creative thinking children, then we ourselves have to be creative and be open to try new things and see the creativity that surrounds us every day! It does not only have to be in the workplace, creativity is everywhere: the beautiful pattern on your bedspread, the way your barista makes the milk swirl on your mocha, the scribbles on a picture that your toddler drew.

Here are some ideas to ignite your creativity:

• Allow yourself to play- jump in puddles, sing in the rain
• Do something physical- play a sport, try yoga or kick a soccer ball
• Keep a creativity journal to save ideas- online or a scrapbook
• Draw, paint, doodle, watercolour things that spark joy for you
• Challenge yourself with new opportunities-try a new recipe
• Consider alternative solutions for situations
• Look for new sources of inspiration-listen to a podcast or read an article
• Make time for creative thinking-10-15 minutes a day will make a difference!
• Overcome a negative attitude or self-criticism-just let the ideas flow
• Seek out new experiences- try a new hobby like knitting or cycling
• Generate way more ideas than you think you actually need

We are so lucky as teachers to be surrounded by untarnished creativity every day from our children. How are you going to GROW your own creativity?

Sending love and inspiration

Wai-Ling

xoxoxo