Focussing on Creativity at the Earleist Stage of Education

Children usually learn all the basic and traditional academic subjects at school such as mathematics, science, social science and languages. Moreover, they have to start develop their ability in critical and analytical thinking at an early stage of education. Mentors must nurture their creative skills, etiquettes and problem-solving abilities.
Significance of Being Creative
Children should seek to be creative as creativity is the most fluent outlet of self – expression. If children can create something from their own feelings and experiences, their emotional health will get a boost. Creativity also enhances children’s mental health as it helps them to explore and experiment, and be innovative through thinking outside the box. Teachers should be adept at identifying and fostering the creative talents in children. Creativity bolsters intelligent, emotional and spiritual quotients of the young students.
Ideal Opportunities for Creativity
Children must have a lot of opportunities forcreative play and creative thinking. We have designed creative activities for them based on their inclinations and passions. We provide children a wide range of creative materials and experiences. We give them ample time to explore materials and pursue their interests and ideas. They have the leisure to think about how to plan, design,construct, experiment and revise ideas.
The variety of experiences children have in their lives can expand their creative
expressions. When children have more exposures to situations outside of their own environment, they can draw on more material to integrate in their play. We never try to limit the diversity of artistic expression in our classroom.
Fostering Creativity
To encourage children to make their own choices, teachers have to offer them frequent opportunities and enough time to engage with expressive materials. They need to focus on the process of creativity, rather than on the finished product. What children discover about themselves is crucial to their holistic growth. We encourage the creative process by appreciating and supporting the efforts of children. We strike a balance between independence and control in the creative process.
Creative Play
An extremely important creative activity for children is creative play. In a creative play children use familiar materials in a new or unusual way, and engage in role-playing and imaginative play. For young children, play is a serious business and the environs to play freely are essential to their healthy growth. Play which also involves repetition of basic physical skills, help children perfect their skills and they become competent in carrying out increasingly difficult physical tasks.
Dramatic play serves as a useful tool for children in exploring and understanding social roles. It also creates several situations for them to acquire social skills as they mingle with others. Children gradually learn to consider each other’s needs, and respect different values and viewpoints.
Children can get rid of stress and pressure through play as they can apply their own standards while playing. They have no need to live up to adults’ expectations during play. They can control the experience by applying their imaginations, and they can exercise their powers to make decisions.
Through play, we try to develop each child’s unique style of creative expression. Play expresses the individual perspectives and responses to the environment. We have created self-expressive activities for children, so that they can apply their powers of imagination. Teachers must stimulate play, rather than controlling or restricting the imagination of a child and its expression. They should enrich children’s play through comments and questions, and encourage new and unusual uses of equipment to inspire creative ideas.