Creativity and young children: wondering, exploring, discovering, learning

Creativity and play have many things in common, and children show us their innate creativity regularly in their play. Like play, creativity has no single definition, as it is rich, complex and varied. Also like play, creativity is deeply satisfying to those who engage in it. This book explores creativity as an essential part of early childhood, with a focus on building early childhood educators’ understanding of the features and values of creative processes and their outcomes. It presents theories of creativity derived from research in early childhood and beyond, examples of children’s everyday creativity, and ways in which adults can support children’s creative development and learning. It provides strategies educators can use to nurture and develop children’s creativity to support their learning. The book aims to show how encouraging creativity can lead to rich play-based experiences that meet the outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009). It encourages early childhood educators to tap into their own creativity as they plan creative opportunities for children.