15.6: Promoting Creativity with Preschoolers

Preschool children often have a natural fascination with the process of creating visual art. Making marks, squishing clay, and using a brush to apply color are activities that attract most young children. In groups where children speak multiple languages and may not share common words, visual art can create connections and a way of communicating. Art can become a way for people to connect across cultures to their common humanity; an appreciation for it may begin in preschool. Inviting families into the environment to share works of art from the home is an opportunity to build a bridge to the home (Paris et.al, 2021).

Young children are naturally creative. The visual art framework is designed to encourage creativity; open-ended projects emphasize the process of working with visual materials. In other words, the curriculum is not focused on encouraging a child to produce, for example, a specific painting, but rather to practice using a brush on paper without a set outcome (Paris et.al, 2021).

This child is painting at the easel.[1]

Visual Arts

One effective way to support creativity in visual arts is to provide a variety of materials without specific instructions. This approach encourages children to use their imagination and come up with their own ideas. For example, offering items like clay, buttons, fabric scraps, and natural materials like leaves and twigs can inspire children to create unique art pieces. Activities such as drawing, painting, and sculpting allow children to explore different materials, textures, and colors, leading to the development of fine motor skills and spatial awareness.

Professionals can support children’s development of the visual arts foundations with the following (Paris et. al, 2019):

• Encourage engagement with art at all levels.
• Support exploration and discovery.
• Give children the time and space needed to explore creativity.
• Provide a comfortable environment in which children can practice art.
• Provide opportunities for children to reflect on their own work.
• Respect individual developmental, cultural, and linguistic differences, and encourage children to respect them.
• Provide children simply with a means and place to make marks (e.g., a crayon and paper), and they will begin with the same basic images.
• Encourage communication around shape and form to aid children’s drawing skills.
• Help children acquire painting skills through practice with the tools.
• Stimulate children’s interest in color and application of paint through other forms of painting.
• Create opportunities for children to work with dough, clay, or wet sand.
• Provide only the malleable material, without tools, during children’s initial explorations of sculpting so that children have a chance to explore through touch.
• Communicate to a group of linguistically and culturally diverse children through sculpture techniques by using nonverbal methods.
• Introduce tools after observing that children have had many “hands-on” opportunities to explore clay and dough sculpture.

Additionally, integrating discussions about famous artworks or artists into the curriculum can inspire children. Asking questions like, "How do you think the artist made this?" or "What do you think this painting is about?" encourages children to think critically and creatively about art (Edwards et.al, 2011).

"Sunflowers" owned by Heather Carter and is licensed CC BY-NC-ND

Music and Movement

To support creativity in music and movement, educators can create an environment where children feel free to experiment with sounds and movements. For instance, providing a variety of instruments and encouraging children to create their own songs or rhythms fosters creative expression. Movement activities, such as improvisational dance, where children are encouraged to move in response to different types of music, help develop both creative thinking and physical coordination.

A practical example is setting up a "music and movement corner" in the classroom with instruments like drums, tambourines, and xylophones, along with scarves or ribbons for dancing. Teachers can play different genres of music and invite children to express what they hear through movement, further supporting their creative development (Glover, 2000).

"Music and Movement in Preschool" owned by Heather Carter and is licensed CC BY-NC-ND

The following is an excerpt from Paris et.al (2021) on additional ways to support creativity through music and movement:

• Find ways to expose children to music being conducted and performed.
• Provide music areas where children can experience instruments or musical activities as individuals or in a small group.
• Set up a “Science of Sound” area where children can explore and experiment with building sounds.
• Provide a conductor’s listening and play area.
• Make instruments with the children.
• Incorporate chant games and songs related to sound production.
• Include a variety of songs that related to a particular topic area
• Use songs that have movements or gestures that accompany the words.
• Provide children with an opportunity to conduct the group by singing or playing instruments.
• Dramatize poetry and nursery rhymes as a fun way to explore and develop vocal inflection and pitch capabilities in the young singer.
• Invite young children to move through instrumental program music or music that “tells a story.”

Drama

The following is an excerpt from Paris et.al (2021) on ways to support the dramatic arts in preschool:

• Observe dramatic play and role-playing.
• Step in or model when needed.
• Provide adaptations to support the participation of children with disabilities or other special needs. This may include pre-teaching, using pictures, sign language, and other multisensory enrichment, modified equipment/props, etc.
• Use a drama-based vocabulary. For example, blocking, actors, stage, scenery, voice, props, etc.
• Encourage children to use drama-based vocabulary
• Encourage and model the expression of interests and preferences.
• Encourage and allow initiative.
• Model and note appropriate ways of using drama materials.
• Move in and out role as appropriate (decide when to participate and when to facilitate).
• Use costumes, props, and scenery to inspire dramatic play and drama.
• Facilitate children’s engagement in drama by first discussing expectations.
• Scaffold and encourage children during and after participating in drama to build their understanding and use of plot.

Creativity Across the Program

Science and Math: Encouraging children to ask questions, make predictions, and experiment with different outcomes supports creativity in science and math. For example, during a simple experiment with water and various objects, asking, "What do you think will happen if we drop this in the water?" encourages children to think creatively and explore scientific concepts. Similarly, in math, providing open-ended problems like, "How many different ways can we build a tower with these blocks?" promotes creative problem-solving and critical thinking.

Cooking: Cooking activities offer numerous opportunities for creativity. Children can experiment with different ingredients, flavors, and textures, which not only supports sensory development but also encourages creative thinking. For instance, asking children to design their own pizza or sandwich allows them to explore combinations of ingredients and develop their culinary creativity.

Blocks and Manipulatives: Building with blocks and using manipulatives like puzzles or pattern blocks supports spatial awareness and problem-solving skills while also fostering creativity. Encouraging children to create their own structures, patterns, or designs without specific instructions promotes imaginative thinking. For example, setting up a "building challenge" where children are asked to create something that can hold a certain amount of weight encourages them to think creatively and explore engineering concepts.

References

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds.). (2011). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed.). Praeger.

Glover, J. (2000). Children’s music: A practical guide for primary school teachers. Routledge.

Paris, J., Beeve, K., & Springer, C. (2021). Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education). LibreTexts.