Microsoft Word lilly creativity (early childhood) done docx

Questioning & Risk-Taking
While constant questioning in a classroom is not reasonable, providing children with the 
opportunity to ask questions and teaching students what questions to ask and how and when to 
ask them is paramount in the process of creativity. This ability will help children understand that 
what matters is the ability to apply facts rather than memorize facts. In promoting creative 
thinking and critical thinking, children must learn to ask questions and develop arguments to 
persuade other people of the value of their ideas demonstrating why their ideas make an 
important contribution. Taking internal ownership for one’s ideas is the first step in self-
advocating and developing the self-esteem and self-confidence to be creative. External 
reinforcement is also important 
until
children can learn to self-advocate based on the self-
evaluation of their ideas. 
Curiosity and Open-endedness
Curiosity is a trait that allows children to learn to explore, ask questions, wonder and 
create. Teachers and parents need to allow for situations for young children to explore within a 
safe environment. This practice exploring, wondering, and being exposed to a rich learning 

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environment will become part of the child’s learning mindset. Curiosity and open-ended 
activities that allow for multiple responses and assessments include more students in the process 
of creativity. For example, Yan (2005) investigated the relationship between the open-endedness 
of activities and creativity in early childhood among at risk (i.e. low income) students and found 
a positive correlation, suggesting students significantly improved in creativity when the degree 
of open-ended activities were increased in their curriculum. Further, Kim (2008) recognized that 
open-ended assignments or open ended components in the classroom contribute to the success of 
highly creative students in promoting intellectual playfulness. Promoting intellectual playfulness 
(i.e., finding pleasure in learning) gave rise to an increase in productivity following the break 
compared to individual brainstorming continuously without a break. 
Storytelling
Child-centered storytelling and dramatization can enhance children’s creativity in early 
childhood education when originality is preserved through effective prompts employed in the 
process (Wright et al., 2008). Prompts give students a starting place to jump off into their own 
direction. Having prompts such as opening prompts, continuation prompts, and closing prompts 
help to scaffold the creative process until students can independently create (Wright, 2008). One 
of the most important skills a parent or teacher can have is patience when faced with the 
unsophisticated nature of children’s stories because such situations are found to improve 
communication between teachers, parents and children. Similar to storytelling, Gupta (2009) 
found that dramatic play enhances development in creativity when the activity was child-initiated 
and teacher-directed. Dramatization of children’s original stories allowed individual 
development within a social context, enhancing children's, language, cognitive, socio-emotional, 
and creative skills (Gupta, 2009). 

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