NICMA - Promoting Creativity in the Early Years Setting

All children can be creative if they are provided with opportunities. Research into learning through play in the early years has found that if creativity is not promoted during the early, naturally creative years, it is not something that can then be developed in later life. As all developmental learning in the early years in centred within play as a medium for learning, here too lie the foundations of creativity development. Pleasure and fun are platforms of creative growth. Children that are engaged and having fun are experiencing deep level learning within the creative domain. What early years practitioners need to learn is that an interruption of this fun can be an interruption of an important learning process.

Creativity is about helping children explore their emotions and express themselves through music, dance, drama, painting etc. whereas creative learning is about helping children develop problem solving skills and imaginative thinking. The focus of creativity is therefore not about producing an end product; it is more about helping children to enjoy and learn from the creative process.

This 3 hour training workshop will enable early year’s practitioners to understand the importance of promoting creativity and creative learning in their setting both indoors and outdoors. It is designed to support practitioners in overcoming the barriers to providing creative activities such as cost, time, mess, and facilitating different age groups.

By attending this workshop learners will:

understand the importance of creativity and creative learning to children’s overall development;
explore a diverse range of activities and experiences to promote creativity and creative learning in the early years setting; and
be able to evaluate own contribution to children’s creative development.

£15.00	Members
£25.00	Non-members