Learning to be Creative

Children learn to become creative through exploration and discovery as they experiment with sound, media and movement. Creativity, imagination and pretend play allow children to share their thoughts, feelings and understandings with others, using drawings, words, movement and imaginative play.

As your child grows, you will notice how their creative skills change and develop; we've put together a handy guide to the changes to watch out for and the practical ways you can help your baby or toddler respond to the world more imaginatively.

Young Babies (0-8 months)

Young babies explore their immediate environment of people, objects and feelings through all their senses. Notice the different ways your baby finds out more about themselves and their environment as they become mobile. Encourage them to enjoy repetition in their movement, language, music and other sensory experiences. Using finger play, rhymes and familiar songs will support your baby's exploration and enjoyment in learning about their bodies and environment.

Young babies also enjoy learning by imitating others. Try to spot the situations in which your baby mimics your or another key carer's facial expressions, movements and sounds. Introduce a sense of playfulness by imitating and mimicking each other. Even wiggling your fingers, sticking out your tongue and tickling is an important game for babies.

Babies (8-18 months)

Babies quickly make sense of and respond to what they see, hear, feel, touch and smell. Look at the movements and sounds you baby makes as they explore materials such as paint, dough, glue, musical instruments and the space around them. Give them plenty of opportunities for creative physical experiences, such as bouncing, rolling and splashing in water indoors and outdoors. Materials such as PVA glue, finger paint and wet play will give your baby the opportunity to delight in sensory exploration and mess making.

As they become more mobile, babies use their whole bodies to recreate an experience. Notice the differences between your baby's imitations and the bodily movements which they use to re-create a situation; such as bouncing on your knee. Provide your baby with the opportunity to explore movement and materials which use all the senses.

Young Children (18-24 months)

As young children become more mobile, they begin express themselves through physical action and sound. Note how your child creates new situations in their play; for example, combining materials such as water and sand and moving them from one area to another. They will also enjoy re-enacting familiar scenes with the help of people, props and resources. Look at the kinds of props and materials which your child uses, and make sure that you provide them with plenty of resources that support their imaginative learning; such as hats, scarves or boxes. Young children enjoy playing with real things; old telephones, bowls, pans and brushes provide an opportunity for imitative and imaginative play.

Children (2-3 years)

As children become more skilful in using language and other forms of communication, such as dance, music and art, they talk about and share the things they paint, draw and play with. Make sure that you provide your child with a range of materials to help them to represent their individual and unique perception of the world, unrestricted by adult ideas. For example, a lion need not have a mane made of wool or a rabbit have whiskers made out of pipe cleaners.

Children will also engage in concentrated imaginative play in which they extend their language and try out ideas, relationships, feelings and movements. Talk with your child about their creative play and encourage them to express themselves imaginatively - join in as much as possible.