Early childhood learning revolves around creativity. It assists children to explore, communicate and derive meaning out of the surrounding world. It does not apply only to the art but is a thinking process that turns ideas into valuable experiences (Mayesky, 2014).
Creativity has the power to make children develop confidence, curiosity, and love the discovery and innovation in education (Bruce, 2005).
Creativity is every child’s right—and our shared responsibility to nurture, guide, and celebrate it.
(Vygotsky, 1978; Torrance, 1970)
Creativity
What Is Creativity?
Creativity is not merely about coming up with something new but it is about the integration of imagination and intent. It involves the act of producing and perfecting original and valuable ideas to the child and other people (Torrance, 1970). Howard and Mayesky (2023) claim that creativity flourishes when kids are given a chance to learn by their hands, to experiment and to find solutions to the problems they face. It also includes curiosity, open-mindedness and resilience- skills that one needs to engage in lifelong learning.
How Creativity Develops
Vygotsky (1978) considered creativity to be a social-cultural process, which develops with the interaction, dialogue, and meaning-making. The process of children building up knowledge entails the interplay of peers and adults who elaborate ideas by scaffolding and reflection.
According to Isbell and Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa (2020), creativity is defined as a mindset that can be developed by teachers through the promotion of autonomy, risk-taking, and flexible thinking. This style will assist children to build confidence in their ideas and in tenacity as they seek out what is not well known to them.
The Process
The Creative Process
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1996) explains that creativity unfolds in stages:
1. Preparation
noticing, gathering, and wondering.
3. Insight
the “aha!” moment when connections appear.
5. Elaboration
refining ideas into a finished form
2. Incubation
allowing ideas to form through exploration and play.
4. Evaluation
deciding which ideas to pursue.
Creativity Across the Curriculum
Creativity lives in every learning area:
Visual and Media Arts: developing imagination and self-expression.
Drama and Puppetry: exploring empathy, storytelling, and communication.
Music and Movement: connecting rhythm, coordination, and emotion.
STEM and Numeracy: solving problems, designing, and experimenting.
These experiences link emotion and intellect, allowing children to see learning as joyful and purposeful (Howard & Mayesky, 2023).
Our Belief
Any child can become a creative one. As educators, we develop that potential by offering open-ended experiences, facilitative relationships, and possibility-rich environments (Isbell & Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa, 2020).
Bruce (2005) reminds us that creativity is not an extra, it is the basis of children thought, exploration and development.
