Kindergarten

Creativity, imagination and STEM

Kindergarten is often thought of as a place where children play and participate in artistic activities, which some may dismiss as simply keeping them occupied. However, what is often overlooked is the intricate cognitive processes that children engage in when they plan, manipulate, experiment, hypothesise, explain, problemsolve, and discuss their ideas to achieve their vision. By providing children multiple opportunities to engage with different materials (the 100 languages – Reggio Emilia), we are provoking curiosity and a desire to investigate. Children are encouraged to explore various objects, colours, and textures through the creative arts, which helps them make sense of their thoughts and ideas. The inclusion of creativity in the Kindergarten curriculum promotes experimentation, problem-solving, risk-taking, and the testing of theories, which leads to new understandings.

The philosophy of Kindergarten at Lauriston is influenced by the schools of Reggio Emilia, founded by Loris Malaguzzi. In 1998, Malaguzzi said, “creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children rather than to the results, they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding.”

The words of Malaguzzi constantly challenge us as educators to foster children’s creative interests, thoughts, and problem-solving skills in an innovative manner. Rather than focusing on a result, it is crucial to closely observe the thought processes that children go through as they work towards understanding and acquiring knowledge.

As we promote STEM learning among young children, creativity becomes a core competency. The Reggio Emilia approach recognises the importance of art education in developing critical and scientific thinking skills through art expression. Art stimulates imagination and encourages children to express their emotions, promotes the development of communication and social skills, and fosters collaborative work and discussion. Research has shown that young children learn best through play, and in carefully constructed play areas, children are able to engage in productive thought. Playing with ideas not only facilitates learning but also ignites a spark of curiosity in children to want to know more and investigate on a deeper level.

Boredom has been scientifically proven to be a precursor for creative thinking. When we’re bored, our brains are in a relaxed state and our mental filters are less active. Young children are adept at expressing boredom as a way to capture the attention of adults. Studies have revealed that engaging in some low-key, undemanding activity helps a wandering mind to come up with imaginative ideas and solutions to problems. Once a child’s mind has sparked an idea, they must devise a plan, gather resources, create a design, and develop ways to represent and bring their idea to life. These are all lifelong skills and are essential to include in STEM classrooms.

Social interactions provide an excellent opportunity for nurturing creativity in young children. Educators can plan activities that promote collaboration and expose children to diverse perspectives, involve children in solving realworld problems, and ask them open-ended questions. By empowering children to develop their own ideas, answers, and interpretations, we can foster creativity and inspire them to become innovative problem-solvers. The Italian philosopher Rodari was a frequent visitor to the schools of Reggio Emilia. Rodari is famous for his interest in fantastical imagination and young children’s education. He believed that educators should act as “animators,” breathing life into creative play across all areas of the curriculum. According to Rodari, collaboration and imagination were crucial elements in enabling children to weave their own stories, both in play and later in life as they developed their writing skills.

Young children require diverse materials and opportunities to represent their understanding of the world around them. The 100 languages of childhood offer a vast array of tools and materials for children to use, from paint to clay to digital media. From a very early age, children engage in using graphic language. This language plays an integral role in children’s learning and the building of understanding. Each mark represents a unique thought or idea, and when children create marks using various tools and surfaces, educators gain valuable insights into their learning process. By analysing children’s mark-making, educators can tailor their learning environment to support curiosity and inspire further exploration.

To further this, we have developed an Artist-in-Residence program. In 2022, we collaborated with sculptor Deborah Edwards to introduce the children to the versatile medium of clay. With Deborah’s guidance, the children explored the properties of clay and utilised their imagination to design and construct a birthday cake. Birthdays are important milestones for children; they mark the passage of time, growth, and the development of knowledge about the wider world.

As they worked on the cake, the children explored the language of clay, experimenting with its properties and using their imagination to decorate it with rolled clay balls and fingerprint patterns. The completed cake now stands proudly in our Kindergarten garden, reminding us all of the children’s potential for creativity and their ability to learn through artistic expression.

Fiona Ireland Director of Kindergarten