Young Children S Play And Creativity

This book draws on the voices of practitioners, academics and researchers to examine young children’s play, creativity and the participatory nature of their learning. Bringing together a wide range of perspectives from the UK and internationally, it focuses on the level of engagement and exploration involved in children’s play and how it can be facilitated in different contexts and cultures. This new reader aims to challenge thinking, promote reflection and stimulate further discussion by bringing together research and practice on play and creativity. Divided into two parts, Part I is written by researchers and academics and explores key themes such as creative meaning making, listening to children’s voices, risk and spaces, children’s rights, play and technology. Part II is authored by Early Childhood professionals and reveals how practitioners have responded to the issues surrounding play and creativity. Each chapter is contextualised by an introduction to highlight the key points and a list of follow-up questions is also included to encourage reflection and debate. Drawing on the wide-ranging writing of academics, practitioners and researchers, this book is an invaluable resource for students, practitioners and all those who are interested in the essence of play and creativity, what it means for children, and the far-reaching benefits for their well-being, learning and development.

The importance of promoting young children’s creative thinking, and the social relationships which support it, is now seen as a vital element of good early childhood practice. The authors push forward our understanding of what young children’s creative thinking is, and how it promotes young children’s well-being. By drawing on research evidence, they examine key issues from the perspectives of the child, the parents or careers and early childhood practitioners, and make links between theory and practice.

From adding richness and variety to learning, to redesigning a playground, this highly accessible text will provide early years practitioners with a wealth of ideas on how to foster creative play and learning in the outdoor environment with a focus on interacting with the natural world. Nature and Young Children contains many simple ideas on the type of materials that can be added to encourage observation, exploration and dramatic play, as well as guidance on what early years practitioners can do to help children meet early development and academic goals through outdoor learning activities. Relating to every-day early years settings throughout, the author of this inspirational text addresses topics such as: gardening with young children choosing plants for safety, variety and active learning making outdoor activities and play spaces accessible for children with disabilities involving parents in appreciating and developing the outdoor space and outdoor activities dealing with fears, safety and comfort issues. Presented in an effective way to develop environmentally responsible attitudes, values and behaviours, Nature and Young Children is recommended for all early years practitioners and students.

In Play and Creativity in Art Teaching, esteemed art educator George Szekely draws on his two classic volumes, Encouraging Creativity in Art Lessons and From Play to Art, to create a new book for new times. The central premise is that art teachers are not only a source of knowledge about art but also a catalyst for creating conditions that encourage students to use their own ideas for making art. By observing children at play and using props and situations familiar to them, teachers can build on children’s energy and self-initiated discoveries to inspire school art that comes from the child’s imagination. The foundation of this teaching approach is the belief that the essential goal of art teaching is to inspire children to behave like artists, that art comes from within themselves and not from the art teacher. Play and Creativity in Art Teaching offers plans for the study of children’s play and for discovering creative art teaching as a way to bring play into the art room. While it does not offer a teaching formula or a single set of techniques to be followed, it demystifies art and shows how teachers can help children find art in familiar and ordinary places, accessible to everyone. This book also speaks to parents and the important roles they can play in supporting school art programs and nourishing the creativity of their children.

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 Yearsis 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.

Do you want to understand young children′s development in greater depth? Would you like to see how they view the world around them, and what they think the future might look like? Creativity in early childhood is an area of fascination for all those working with young children, and this book investigates why children create, and what their creations mean. Chapters describe the processes and depict the outcomes of meaning-making, and of making room for children′s voices through the open-ended activity of drawing. Issues examined include: - the increasingly popular use of multi-modal texts; - links between creativity and literacy; - the importance of art in early childhood; - concrete examples of children′s meaning-making, from the author′s research. We see how non-verbal and verbal communication is used to convey meaning, and how children′s voices emerge; the important role imagination and narrative play in the early and continuing development of children is emphasized throughout the book. Ideal for students of early childhood, and for anyone working with young children, this book is a revelatory guide to the mind of the young child.

Publisher description

This text shows how the natural creative expression and play of children can be channelled to foster the learning and growth of each individual child. The book explores the nature, development and importance of children's play, suggesting many ways in which it may be fostered and encouraged by adults who work with young children. The aim of the book is to help readers design and implement self-expressive activities focusing on the process of creative expression, showing how to nurture that process, rather than providing a ready-made repertoire of activities and materials.