Creative Kids

“Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colours”.Loris Maliguzzi, founder Reggio Emilia preschools

Letting a child use their innate curiosity to get creative has many benefits for little ones:

• coordination (fine motor skills & spatial awareness);
• academics (scientific, mathematical & literacy concepts); and
• cognitive development & critical thinking (self-confidence, concentration & problem solving).

Creativity is an important part of many early childhood education philosophies. Miss M is attending a pre-school a couple of days a week that follows the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Creativity is an essential aspect of that philosophy – the belief that children learn through a multitude of experiences & self-driven exploration. Children have endless “languages” to express themselves – such languages include artistic and creative forms such as painting, sculpture, construction & writing.

Creative learning in this environment is less project based crafting and more free-form art but the importance of expression, imagination & sensory discovery is the same.

Whilst the theoretical benefits of crafting & getting creative are great – on a day to day level – crafting with little ones is all about having fun, experimenting, and letting your little ones’ imagination, interest and ingenuity lead the way (and hoping it will keep them away from the TV as long as possible!).