Creativity is an important component of early childhood learning and fosters a young child's holistic development. Creativity enables imagination, problem-solving, and exploration while expressing itself and being Creative given Creative opportunities. Justified Creative endeavors allow young children to learn outside the box, build resiliency and engage meaningfully with the world around them (Gao & Hall, 2024).Creativity is not just arts and crafts but can extend into every curriculum area, including science, mathematics, language, literacy and technologies.
Creators are supported in today's educational climate with an awareness of curriculum Frameworks designed to promote the best in Educator practice. For example, the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF V2.0) supports creativity by championing Framework learning outcomes, such as Outcome 4, Children are confident and involved learners which relies on curiosity and enthusiasm through play and imaginative exploration (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022). Consequently, creative experiences foster by this Framework help develop a child's identity, communication and well-being while promoting necessary aspects of fundamental skills for lifelong learning.
Creative experiences are facilitated by intentional teaching supported by explorative beliefs and abundant resources from educators. The fields of research promote that creativity is supported through beliefs and practices that champion the importance of the educator. For example, Ata-Akturk and Sevimli-Celik (2020) reveal how pre-service teachers are not properly accredited in the significance of advocating for creative pedagogy, implying that in-service professional development is needed on supporting integrated creativity across the curriculum.
Additionally, one potential view of understanding creativity is through the Reggio Emilia philosophy which champions the child's perspective. From this angle, creativity is a co-construction between the teacher and peers, where much is offered to the child's thought process in choosing to engage in creativity. Leggett (2024) reviews how educators in Australia and Italy document children's creative processes to understand their reasoning better and invoke further inquiry about their ideas; thus supporting the idea that Creative investment is more than a final project but, rather, The Creative process a cognitive endeavor.
Moreover, creativity across the curriculum promotes equity and inclusion. Exposure to various engagement, expression and learning opportunities help all subcultures, plural languages, cultures and disabilities (Gao & Hall, 2024). This addition aligns with inclusive practices across the EYLF and mandated by the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2023) to support differentiated learning in a culturally appropriate way.
This website will explore how early childhood educators can champion Creative experiences across all curriculum areas key learning areas: Art; Drama and Puppetry; Movement and Music; Language and Literacy; Science; Engineering; Technologies; Mathematics and Numeracy; Humanities and Social Studies; Integrated Curriculum (STEM, STEAM, STREAM, STEMIE). Each individual page includes:
Creativity can be integrated into all areas of the curriculum because children are interested explorers who appreciate innovation. Creativity is NOT an 'extra;' it's quality early childhood education.