Session 2

1. Session 2

1.2. Inquiry 1

CCS3130 Session 2

Session 2: Creative Development

Inquiry 1: What Is Creativity?

This photo shows a young boy with a drawing he has created.

Watching children find delight and wonder in the world is one of the most rewarding things about working with children. What most adults consider to be ordinary, children look at in wonder and amazement. Child care providers who understand creative development will engage children and foster their sense of creativity.

Creativity is difficult to define. It is demonstrated when individuals are curious, flexible, and interested in exploring their environment. (All children have these traits.)

People using their creativity exhibit the following characteristics:

They think in different ways.
They are flexible and adapt to change.
They are sensitive.
They have a heightened awareness of the world.
They experience through their senses what others may miss.
They have a sense of wonder and enjoyment for beauty.

Creativity is taking a different or fresh approach developed from one’s own thoughts or imagination. Creativity involves a process of creating (e.g., choosing items, materials, ideas, and words to express oneself) and an end product (i.e., what is created).

For young children, the process of creating is very important. Often, their focus is on how they play with and manipulate materials. The result or end product of their creating may have little meaning to them. Sometimes there is no end product at all. There are many examples of activities that support children’s creative development but have no end product. Consider the following examples:

open-ended experience: an experience that allows children to choose which materials they want to use from those available, how they want to use them, and whether or not there will be an end product

Open-ended experiences do not need to include the possibility of an end product.

closed-ended experience: an experience in which children are told which materials to use and how to use them

In a closed-ended experience, the end product is defined for the children.

trying out diverse objects as instruments for making music
thinking up actions to go with a song
playing with an object in a new way
while indoors, imagining an outdoor space in which to play camping
telling a story to go with a picture

To develop creatively, children need opportunities to engage in open-ended experiences rather than in closed-ended experiences.

Creative Versus Factual Response

It is recommended that you ask children questions that encourage them to give a creative response. For example, a child care provider asks a child, “Why is your baby crying?” The child’s creative response might be, “She hurt her toe. A lion bit her.”

Questions that are based on facts and are either right or wrong do not develop children’s creativity. For example, “The grass is green” is a factual response to the question, “What colour is the grass?” The question does not require the child to think creatively.

While factual questions don’t require children to think creatively, they are appropriate when child care providers want to find out what a child knows. There is a place for both types of questions in a child care environment.

Checking My Understanding: Questions That Encourage Creativity

Focus

Child care providers can promote children’s creativity by asking specific types of questions. Factual questions focus more on children’s intellectual development, whereas creative questions promote creative thinking.

Directions

Complete the Questions That Encourage Creativity activity.

Stages of Creative Development

Consider the following stages of creative development.

Stage	Basic Exploration	Non-Representative	Representative
Description	Children explore and manipulate materials by using their senses.	Children continue to gain an understanding of materials and are able to use them with more control.	Children pre-plan how to use materials and create something recognizable.
Examples	scribbles marks on paper paints colours on top of each other sifts sand through fingers splashes in water cuddles soft puppets	draws circles and other shapes separates colours stacks blocks in rows makes (and breaks) sand moulds	draws pictures of things that are familiar (houses, flowers, and so on) makes block structures builds sand castles

This photo shows a young boy with a toy in his mouth.

When children are introduced to new materials, they may begin at the basic exploration stage. For example, toddlers may put toys in their mouths as part of basic exploration. Child care providers should understand that this is the basic exploration stage and matches the stage of intellectual development.

Course Project

As you progress through this session, it is important to remember that you should also be working on items and strategies to include in your strategies box. How might you apply the information presented in this inquiry to items and strategies for your course project?

Course Completion Checklist

Have you remembered to update your Course Completion Checklist? If you haven’t already started to use the checklist, access it in the Toolkit now. Remember to update the checklist every time you work on the course.