What Parents Need To Know About Child Care And Creativity

How can child care help your preschooler to develop their creative abilities? Take a look at what you need to know about the early childhood education environment and your child's imagination, critical thinking, and artistic development. 

What Is Creativity?

Before you can understand how daycare will help your child to develop creatively, you may need to learn more about this concept. Creativity is often thought of as the artistic side of a person. But creativity is much more than the arts. While the arts do often require a high degree of creativity, painting, drawing, sculpting, making music, and dancing are not the only ways your child can get creative. This concept or ability also includes self-expression, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

Why Is Creativity Important?

More specifically, why does your child need to develop creatively? Not every child will become a professional artist or musician. But this does not mean your preschooler is not creative or should not develop these skills. Again, creativity can help young children to build crucial cognitive skills, such as problem-solving and critical thinking. It can also help them to become self-aware and develop emotionally. 

What Creative Activities Will Your Child Try In Daycare?

There is no universal answer to this question. The specific activities your child will try depend on a few factors. These include the age and developmental level of your child, the program, the center's curriculum, and the teacher's lesson plans. 

Even though art is not the only way to build creative skills, this area is used often in the early childhood classroom. Along with the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpting), daycare classroom activities also may include the performing arts—singing, dancing, and acting. A few art activities are organized or structured, while others are more free-form. 

An organized art activity could include a finger painting project or a classroom play. A free-form creative activity involves active exploration and a process-based approach. Instead of a specific product, these activities allow your child to create and discover in their own ways. Examples of these classroom activities are free-play dress-up time, undirected pretend play, experimenting with instruments, and undefined visual arts activity that promotes materials exploration. 

How Can the Teacher Help Childhood Creativity Development?

The activities alone are not always enough to help children explore their own creativity. An experienced early childhood educator can provide a supportive environment and ask open-ended questions during activities or throughout the day. 

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