When we think about ‘creativity’ we might think about the ability to invent something new or to develop an original idea. Certainly we would expect a creative person to go beyond received knowledge and beyond established solutions; such a person may find new ways of solving problems in technology or science or new ways of representing human experience in a work of art. But there can also be creativity in the way in which we live in the world from day to day. What do we mean by this? Perhaps it is about having the confidence to think critically about the things we encounter and to make sense of them in our own way. There is official recognition of the need for teachers to think about the concept of creativity and to bring ‘creativity’ into their classrooms, see for example OFSTED’s publication Expecting the Unexpected (2003).
There is overwhelming evidence that babies have the potential to explore the world in an active and inquiring manner (Gopnik et al., 1999). If we believe a creative approach to the world is important we need to nurture this potential and ensure that all children, and not just an elite, have the opportunity to develop active kinds of intelligence from a young age.
This entry starts with a selective review of the work of those who illuminate the beginnings of creativity and advise on how it is best fostered in very young children. The importance of nurturing their creative capacity cannot be overestimated. Here are sown the seeds of those cultural activities to do with stories, poems and drama. Then I move on.........
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