Creative Activities For The Early Years

′An excellent resource for all those working with young children... jam-packed with exciting, inspirational activities that encourage young children to nurture their creativity and imagination while helping practitioners to facilitate what children do naturally... It is a book that celebrates and encourages original thought and action to support learning through exploration and investigation, recognising that creativity is about representing one′s own image and not reproducing someone else′s′ - Early Years Educator ′[I]nspirational... This book is easy to read, refreshing and exciting, and I would recommend it to all those working with young children. It is also useful for students, clearly articulating the reasons for providing well-organised child-initiated creative opportunities rather than adult-directed activities′ - Nursery World It is an interesting and informative manual aimed at those who work with children in the 3-5 years age range, and is therefore most suited to anyone in a Pre-School or Day Nursery setting, and could also be valuable to a Reception Teacher...over all, I found this to be a very useful book′. - National Childminding Association Packed full of exciting ideas and powerful visual aids, this book will help those working with young children to encourage and nurture their creativity and imagination. The book takes examples of what has worked in an early years setting, and transfers these inspirational activities onto the page. The book includes: " practical activities in Art, Dance and Music and ideas on how to link them together; " advice on how to make the most of music, lighting, space and nursery resources; " showing how the work supports the Foundation Stage Curriculum; " ideas for cross-curricular work; " suggestions for recording children′s progress; " advice on how to choose materials, and a list of specialist suppliers. Everyone involved in working with young children should read this book. Nursery practitioners, early years teachers, Sure Start workers, play workers and Children′s Centre staff will find it an invaluable resource. It is also useful for specialist staff in hospitals and other areas of health.

Creative Activities for the Early Years contains over 160 art and music activities for use with children aged 0-5. These tried and tested activities, which include songs, rhymes, and story suggestions, are ideal for use in all early years settings. Whether your topic is the autumn, the Chinese New Year or the coastline, you can be sure that children will find the art and music ideas in this book interesting and entertaining. The activities encourage children to use their imagination to communicate ideas, and develop their gross and fine motor skills. The activities are grouped by popular early years themes and can be used as a complete programme or as a dip-in resource.

Note: This is the bound book only and does not include access to the Enhanced Pearson eText. To order the Enhanced Pearson eText packaged with a bound book, use ISBN 013383154X. Innovative, practical, and easy to use, Creative Materials and Activities for the Early Childhood Curriculum is the ideal research-based resource for helping all children from infancy through grade five learn in, through, and with the arts, while meeting national and state standards. With a focus on teaching the creative arts and other subjects in ways that engage children’s minds and bodies, it looks at the teacher’s role from multiple perspectives by addressing the concepts and importance of creativity, classroom environment, planning, and assessment. Included are over 400 standards-based activities, an abundance of children’s literature suggestions, arts-infused content-area chapters, differentiated strategies across age and grade levels, technology suggestions, inspiring photos, practical examples, lesson segments, case studies, guidelines, and practical tips that can be put to immediate use in the classroom. Also included are a number of user-friendly approaches for using arts-based learning to meet the needs of diverse learners. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded video to illustrate key concepts and pop-up assessments. Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText* The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is: Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience. Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPad® and Android® tablet.* Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book. *The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads. *The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later.

"Creative Activities for Young Children, 7th Edition," is an excellent tool for fostering creativity in young children and can be used by two and four-year colleges and universities, technical colleges, child care provider training, and child care centers. It is also an appealing guide for parents and homeschool providers.

The Practical Guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage series will assist practitioners in the smooth and successful implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Each book gives clear and detailed explanations of each aspect of Learning and Development and encourages readers to consider each area within its broadest context to expand and develop their own knowledge and good practice. Practical ideas and activities for all age groups are offered along with a wealth of expertise of how elements from the practice guidance can be implemented within all early years settings. The books include suggestions for the innovative use of everyday ressources, popular books and stories. The clear and practical information in this book will help practitioners in supporting and developing the natural curiosity of children, helping them explore and express their own ideas through a variety of activities including music art and dance. The author explores the balance between the necessary freedoms of choice that creativity requires and the control which thoughtful practitioners must exert and offers ideas for building children's imaginations through play.

"Creative Activities for Young Children, 7th Edition," is an excellent tool for fostering creativity in young children and can be used by two and four-year colleges and universities, technical colleges, child care provider training, and child care centers. It is also an appealing guide for parents and homeschool providers.

Reviews of the first edition “In addition to expected information about developmental stages and caregiver response, Duffy discusses diversity and accessibility issues that affect children’s response to opportunities to express their creativity … an admirably detailed guide to creativity for persons involved in caring for young children.” Education Review “The strength of Bernadette Duffy’s book is her ability to share through tables, examples, theory and reflections her deep understanding of children’s creative process…” Montessori International Magazine Learning through the arts has the potential to stimulate open ended activity that encourages discovery, exploration, experimentation and invention, thus contributing to children’s development in all areas of learning and helping to make the curriculum meaningful to them. Bernadette Duffy draws on her extensive experience of promoting young children's creativity and imagination to examine how visual representations, music, dance, imaginative play and drama can enable children to express their feelings, thoughts and responses. She highlights examples of good practice and provides practical guidance for those working with young children in a variety of settings, including home, school and centre-based care. Updated throughout, this second edition considers creativity and imagination in the light of contemporary initiatives such as Every Child Matters, Birth to Three Matters, Sure Start and the Foundation Stage curriculum. Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years is essential reading for early years practitioners and students, as well as anyone who delights in young children's learning and development and wants to explore new ways of supporting it.