Creative Activities and Curriculum for Young Children By Mary Mayesky Slides Prepared By Jennifer Johnson ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 2 Promoting Creativity ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

The Relationship between Creativity and the Curriculum Knowledge and skills are: Necessary A prerequisite for creativity The base for creativity Curriculum is the guide to determine what will be presented. Creativity is the how curriculum is presented. ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Promoting Creativity through Play and Exploration Knowledge and skills leads to exploration Exploration shapes the brain Active learning creates unique individuals ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Promoting Creativity through Play and Exploration Young child’s computer-use example: Skill acquisition through exploration Knowledge acquisition through exploration Challenge and interaction ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Modifying the Curriculum to Encourage Creativity Curriculum as outline of knowledge and skills: Learning as exploration and play Learning modified for each child Developmentally appropriate curriculum Children’s interests reflected in materials and activities Variety of materials Consider all learning styles and multiple intelligences Encourage divergent thinking and curiosity Opportunities for interaction and communication ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Modifying the Curriculum to Encourage Creativity Curiosity: A direct link to creativity Recognize differences Redefine failure Use attention and approval to reinforce curiosity Teach when and where to explore Integrated curriculum and creativity Whole curriculum Designed around a unit of study ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum A philosophy of teaching and learning Readiness levels Individual learning pace Connection between curriculum and interests Natural learning opportunities Classroom as a community Teachers maximize each child’s capacity ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum Creative early childhood curriculum and learning styles Left brain Analytic, logical Successive processor Right brain Holistic, global Simultaneous processor ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum Left hemisphere Handwriting, symbols, language, reading, phonics Details and facts, talking and reciting, following directions, listening and auditory association School curriculum is left-brained ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum Right hemisphere Recognize and process nonverbal sounds Communicate using body language Judgments about relationships of body to space Recognize, draw, deal with shapes and patterns Distinguish between colors and hues and visualize in color Singing, music, creative art ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum Promoting creativity through positive acceptance Adults need to: Value children’s curiosity, exploration, and original behavior Allow children’s individual learning pace Allow children to complete tasks at their own pace Allow children to figure out their own way to do things Keep atmosphere relaxed Encourage guessing Let creative activity be the reward ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Differentiated Instruction and Creative Early Childhood Curriculum Working with older children Encourage creativity Give students extended, unhurried time Provide students with an area to leave work Create a classroom atmosphere where mistakes are acceptable Introduce students to out-of-class experiences ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Questioning Strategies to Encourage Creative Thinking Convergent questions Divergent questions Making things better with your imagination Using other senses Divergent-thinking questions What-would-happen-if questions In how many different ways? questions ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Questioning Strategies to Encourage Creative Thinking Motivating skills for teachers Help get children started by: Attending to physical needs Finding out interests Allowing children to work with friends Planning activities for fun Permitting children to set and reach goals Varying content and style of activities Challenging the children Reinforcing the children ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Questioning Strategies to Encourage Creative Thinking How to inspire creativity: Research and perspective Art alone provides no evidence that test scores will rise. Art education, though, is increasingly important as schools narrowly focus curriculum. Without art, artistic creators and innovative leaders of the future may be lost. Art teaches seeing, imagining, inventing and thinking. ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.