Know

Consider the statement: “Children should be seen and not heard.” If you were operating from this philosophy, what would be your approach as a parent or as a teacher? What kinds of things would children do or not do as a result of you holding that belief? Now think about what a teacher’s approach might be if they believe there is only one right way to do something. What if they believe that there is no time for play, as children need to be ready for school? Your beliefs and attitudes influence your actions.

Our personal experiences and cultural values influence our work. We need to be aware of our beliefs and their alignment or conflict with the philosophies of the programs where we work. Working with children and youth requires decision-making based on research and best practice, and curricular decisions should be based on a philosophical framework. A philosophical framework bundles research and best practice and provides a way for teachers to evaluate their thinking when making curricular decisions. To achieve positive child and youth outcomes, it is important that all staff members in your program operate from the same philosophical framework. Understanding that all staff may not share the same beliefs, and being able to clearly articulate why you support a philosophy that promotes creativity, will ensure consistency across your program.

The core components of a philosophical framework for creativity include these ideas:

• Creativity prepares children and youth with the skills they need to be successful.
• Creativity includes more than the arts.
• While it may show itself in different ways, creativity is within all of us.

21st Century Skills

Most people can agree that the world in which their children and youth will live, work and play will be very different in the future than it is today. Constant change requires an ever-evolving set of skills.

Diane Ravitch, an education historian, says that for children to be prepared for the 21st century, they need the following skills and knowledge:

An understanding of history, civics, geography, mathematics, and science, so they may comprehend unforeseen events and act wisely; the ability to speak, write, and read English well; mastery of a foreign language; engagement in the arts, to enrich their lives; close encounters with great literature, to gain insight into timeless dilemmas and the human condition; a love of learning, so they continue to develop their minds when their formal schooling ends; self-discipline, to pursue their goals to completion; ethical and moral character; the social skills to collaborate fruitfully with others; the ability to use technology wisely; the ability to make and repair useful objects, for personal independence; and the ability to play a musical instrument, for personal satisfaction.

A group of more than 250 researchers across 60 institutions worldwide (Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills) identified four categories of 21st century skills:

• Ways of thinking: Creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and learning
• Ways of working: Communication and collaboration
• Tools for working: Information and communications technology and information literacy
• Skills for living in the world: Citizenship, life and career, and personal and social responsibility

As a Program Manager, it is important for you to ensure that staff members recognize that while the three R’s—reading, writing and arithmetic—are essential, so are the three C’s: creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Interactions, Routines, and Experiences

Though creativity is within us, it is nurtured in our interactions with others and the experiences we share. Creativity is not something extra that your staff does; it is a part of everything they do. Children spend a great deal of time at your program and will be seeking outlets for creative expression throughout each day. It is you and your staff’s job to find a balance between providing much-needed structure and routine, while also nurturing each child’s need to be creative. When it comes to interactions, routines, and experiences in cultivating creativity, here are a few things to keep in mind:

A positive and encouraging attitude brings out the best in people. There is no place in child and youth programs for people who are negative and judgmental. Routines are anything but routine. Children need consistency to feel comfortable and free to participate in creative experiences with a clear direction and understanding of necessary routines. A hurry-up-and-get-it-done approach minimizes the opportunities to connect, learn new things or try something a different way. Building on the interests and skills of children and youth and capitalizing on connections and teachable moments creates excitement and enhances learning. Rote drill and skill activities like worksheets, dull creativity. Adults need play time too. Move away from traditional ice breakers at staff meetings and find new ways for staff members to express themselves or engage with one another. This could look like putting out interesting objects or simple materials for staff to use to create something together or trying a new skill or activity.

• A positive and encouraging attitude brings out the best in people. There is no place in child and youth programs for people who are negative and judgmental.
• Routines are anything but routine. Children need consistency to feel comfortable and free to participate in creative experiences with a clear direction and understanding of necessary routines. A hurry-up-and-get-it-done approach minimizes the opportunities to connect, learn new things or try something a different way.
• Building on the interests and skills of children and youth and capitalizing on connections and teachable moments creates excitement and enhances learning. Rote drill and skill activities like worksheets, dull creativity.
• Adults need play time too. Move away from traditional ice breakers at staff meetings and find new ways for staff members to express themselves or engage with one another. This could look like putting out interesting objects or simple materials for staff to use to create something together or trying a new skill or activity.

For more in-depth information on strategies for cultivating creativity in each of these areas, refer to the age tracks for this course.

It is the Arts and So Much More

Our lives are enriched through the arts. It is essential that children and youth are exposed to a variety of artistic forms, including dance, art, theater, and music. Opportunities for children and youth to express themselves artistically, to experiment with different artistic mediums, and to enhance their artistic capabilities should be part of their daily educational experiences at your program. Art is a way for children and youth to solve problems, conceptualize the world, and create new possibilities.

Creativity though is more than the arts; it can be science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As a Program Manager, it is important for you to emphasize to staff that while the arts are important, so are hands-on STEM experiences. New ways of thinking lead to new ways of doing, which are fueled by creativity.

Introducing technology to young children can enhance their creative expression in new ways. With proper guidance from adults, children are capable of learning many new skills. Staff must be deliberate in the way they introduce technology and how they use it to guide children’s learning. Once children know how to operate and care for devices, they can more easily extend their learning and create their own ideas for its use. The goal of incorporating technology in learning should be for children to be users, not simply consumers (Fantozzi, 2022).

In addition to fine art and STEM activities, physical activities like games and sports can be an outlet for children’s creative thinking. Research suggests a relationship exists between physical fitness and creative processing, and that participating in sports and physical activity can help children develop creative thinking skills (Santos & Monteiro, 2020). When children hike, climb, play games with others, and engage in other physical pursuits, they are problem-solving and flexing their creative muscles.

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” — Walt Disney

Creative Expression is Universal

As you learned in Lesson One, creativity is something within all of us. The question is not whether we are creative, but rather how we express our creativity. While creativity can be expressed in a multitude of ways, there are some specific ways in which creativity is expressed across the age continuum.

As a Program Manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that staff members have a thorough understanding of how creativity is expressed for the ages of the children and youth they serve. The following video shows a few ways infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-agers engage in creativity. For more in-depth descriptions of how creativity is expressed across the age continuum, refer to the direct care tracks for this course.

Culturally Responsive Creative Experiences

Creativity can happen anywhere: quiet moments by yourself, surrounded by a group of enthusiastic people, on a walk, in a car, etc. The opportunities that staff members provide to children and the interactions among staff members and children are critical for promoting creativity.

Take a moment to think about the phrase “culturally responsive creative experiences.” Culturally responsive experiences are those that help children see themselves. This may mean opportunities for self-reflection and expression. It may also mean broad exposure to people, ideas, and experiences from around the world. Exposure to the world around them sparks curiosity and creative thinking. In terms of creativity, the term “culture” can be quite broad. Staff members should provide experiences that help children define a sense of self and a sense of the world around them. This may include racial or ethnic identity, but it can also include identities related to family home values, beliefs, and experiences. For example, children may explore the culture of living on a military installation, being an only child, or starting middle school.

Families can be your program’s resource for culturally responsive experiences. Ask families to share creative experiences and activities that they engage in as a family and invite families to share ideas for the classroom or program that are culturally relevant.

Meeting the Needs of ALL Learners

Each child develops differently, and each child approaches creative experiences differently. Some children might have difficulties accessing creative experiences. For example, a child who uses a wheelchair might have trouble reaching a traditional easel. A child with visual or hearing impairments may have trouble viewing a work of art or listening to a piece of music. A child with attention difficulties might be challenged to attend to an experience for any length of time. A child who is easily over-stimulated might not enjoy sensory or open-ended experiences. Staff must be prepared to meet children where they are and make appropriate adaptations or modifications so all children can access creative experiences. Here are some guidelines to help staff members support all learners:

• Art and creative experiences should always be a choice, and there should be no wrong answers. Each child encounters experiences in his or her own way and at his or her own pace.
• Do not let disabilities or differences be a barrier to participation. Help staff create adaptations or modifications that allow each child to participate fully.
• Scaffold creative experiences for children who need support. Although creative experiences are often open-ended, it is OK for adults to provide some help when needed. Adults could use a picture schedule to help an individual child begin an activity (i.e., put on smock, pick up brush, dip in paint, and create!). They may use a variety of supports such as peer support, adult support, or environmental modification to help children be successful (Sandall et al., 2019).

Distinguishing Between Process- and Product-Oriented Experiences

Your program should strive to strike a balance between process-oriented experiences and product-oriented experiences. Process-oriented experiences are those experiences that are open-ended, child-directed, and focused on the experience rather than the outcome. For example, children paint at easels, write their own scripts for a play, or experiment with constructing a doll house out of a variety of materials. Product-oriented experiences have a clearly defined goal or outcome. An adult often decides upon the goal. For example, a class of preschool children might all make jack-o’-lantern faces out of construction paper at Halloween. When adults dictate to children the size paper to use, colors to use, and product to make, creativity is stifled (Althouse, Johnson, & Mitchell, 2002).

Not all examples of product-oriented experiences discourage creativity. Product-oriented experiences can be important when children are developing skills. For example, if a child is learning to play a musical instrument, knit, sew, or compose an essay, there are specific skills or strategies the child needs to learn. Creativity flourishes when the child has mastered the skills necessary to perform.

Supervise & Support

Facilitating a Balanced Approach

When it comes to igniting creativity, your program should use a balanced approach. Focusing more on the end result (product) minimizes the importance of the experience (process). In other words, the journey is just as important as the destination.

Children need a balance between skill-based, product-oriented experiences and more open-ended, process-oriented experiences. You must work with staff to help them understand when each type of experience is appropriate. The decision rests in the goal of the activity. If the goal is creative expression, it would be inappropriate to ask all children to create an identical flower out of modeling clay. If the goal is to replicate a specific technique that is needed for further skill building, then this activity might be appropriate.

As a Program Manager, it is important that you recognize when staff members are not taking a balanced approach, and work with your Training & Curriculum Specialist to support them in finding balance. Through coaching and professional development, you can help them step out of their comfort zones and embrace new strategies for enhancing creativity.

Watch as these preschoolers engage in a project that takes a balanced approach. There is adult input that invites children to express themselves artistically, make independent decisions, and reflect on the work they created.

When it comes to igniting creativity at your program, it is important that you articulate your program’s philosophical framework. In summary, staff should understand the following:

• Personal beliefs, while important, may be different than the program’s philosophy.
• Creativity is an essential 21st century skill.
• Creativity involves the arts and so much more, including science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and games.
• Creative expression manifests itself differently based on children’s ages and the activities in which they are engaged.
• It is important to take a balanced approach.

Staff should also be encouraged to apply what they understand about creativity by using intentional strategies and best practices. It’s not enough to recognize the importance of supporting creativity in your program, you must find ways to keep children and staff actively engaged with creative thinking and play.