Welcome to Creativity in the Curriculum
We feel that creativity is a fundamental aspect of effective education. It is not only relevant to the arts—it makes every area of the curriculum stronger, enabling students to think for themselves, solve problems, and adapt to an ever-changing world (Robinson, 2011).
Research consistently shows that integration of creativity throughout the curriculum enhances student motivation, supports deeper learning, and increases achievement (Craft, 2005). Creative teaching strategies also develop critical 21st-century skills, such as collaboration, communication, and emotional intelligence (Lucas, Claxton, & Spencer, 2013).
By integrating creativity into everyday learning—from math and science to literature and social studies—we aspire to create curious, capable, and innovation-ready learners.
Why Creativity Matters
✨ Increases participation and motivation (Craft, 2005)
✨ Fosters teamwork and interpersonal skills (Lucas et al., 2013)
✨ Supports mental health and emotional expression (Robinson, 2011)
✨ Equip young people for the future needs of the labor market (OECD, 2018)
How It Works
✨Integrative, Play-Based Design
Our curriculum weaves creative arts, drama, storytelling, and exploratory play into traditional subjects—challenging intellectual, emotional, and social growth through experiential, open-ended learning experiences.
✨Project- and Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Students solve real-world problems through project-based, interdisciplinary work. This practice builds critical thinking, flexibility, and creativity.
✨Design Thinking as a Framework
Teachers and students start with meaningful problems, feel the needs, ideate solutions, prototype, and think. This human-centered approach aligns creativity and practical design Continuing Teacher Development
Teachers become learning "designers," crafting dynamic, creativity-based learning experiences that respond to students' interests and developmental needs.
✨Community Engagement & Real-World Relevance
Families, community groups, and cultural partners co-design learning experiences—placing learning in real contexts and amplifying creative expression.
Importance of the Curriculum Area in Facilitating Creativity
Creativity in early childhood is at the heart of all-round development, promoting cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Early childhood is "vital for establishing the basis of a lifelong capacity for learning, for character development, and for creativity," with little brains forging neural links at an incredible rate—fuelled by activities like storytelling, role play, and exploration. Imaginative, expressive, and improvisational play—creative play—is crucial to children's development, offering a safe space in which to experiment and try out, to communicate emotion, and to adapt.
Scientific research confirms that the integration of creative arts—such as music, dance, visual art, and dramatic play—enables exploration, self-discovery, and attachment to the broader world and society. Furthermore, creative play develops emotional resilience by giving children avenues of non-verbal expression and building confidence through achievement and fantasy-based exploration. In short, incorporating creativity into the curriculum not only improves learning but also builds flexibility, critical thinking, and confidence—skills essential to a lifetime of success.
Creativity Theories and Perspectives in Early Childhood
Several early theories of learning provide the foundation for conceptualizing creativity and how it is developed in early childhood. Lev Vygotsky emphasized scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development in his writing, highlighting how facilitated interaction builds children's creative imagination into profound thinking and learning. His creative imagination theory also puts play at the forefront of supporting children through symbolic and rule-based thought. Jean Piaget considered early childhood to be the most creative stage of life—symbolic and pretend play as essential means of representing and constructing symbolic thinking.
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences values arts and creativity as essential means by which children may exhibit various types of intelligence—and encourages curriculum flexibility to support varied strengths. In addition, Malaguzzi and Rodari's creative pedagogy philosophies assert that children are imaginative by nature who can have their own thought processes co-constructed in the learning environment through responsive, documentation-rich practices. All these theoretical frameworks underpin that creativity in early childhood is not an end, but a process with its foundations in social interaction, expression, and learner-focused pedagogy.
Resources, Materials, and Digital Technologies for Early Childhood Teachers
To support creativity, early childhood teachers can tap into a rich integration of hands-on materials and computer technology that invite discovery and expression. Traditional materials—such as art materials, blocks, recycled materials, dress-up clothes, and open-ended loose parts—support invention through exploration, storytelling, and problem-solving by hand. Dramatic and pretend-play materials (puppets, dress-up clothes) support sociodramatic play, pivotal in fantasy development as conceptualized by Sara Smilansky.
In the virtual world, applications such as interactive whiteboards, digital storytelling software, drawing and recording tablets, and coding toys (i.e., robots, programming software) offer multi-sensory, collaborative spaces for creative exploration. Technology needs to supplement, not substitute, creative play, expanding rather than diminishing social interaction and discovery. Camera and video use allow children to capture and reflect on their creative process, allowing them to reflect and construct a story. These diverse materials, brought together in an intentional way, provide early educators considerable tools for encouraging imaginative investigation, persistence, and expressive competence.