Teach Early Years Magazine

In this issue of Teach Early Years...
Creativity is at the heart of what makes us human – from our capacity to invent our way to solutions to tricky problems, to our desire to express ourselves through works of art. But despite its importance, the creative spark is sometimes lacking in formal education. As pupils progress through their schooling, a “teach-to-the-test” approach can take hold, inadvertently stifling – or at least failing to nurture – skills that many employers are crying out for (to say nothing of the intrinsic value of being able, and wanting, to create).

The same can’t be said of early years. Creativity is at the fore when children are given time to play, led by their imagination; to solve challenges they encounter as they do so; and to express themselves in a host of ways – whether that’s by making marks on the ground with a stick, mixing up a concoction in the mud kitchen, moving their bodies to music, directing events in a small-world scene, or painting/drawing/assembling representations of whatever most interests them at the time.

  In this issue, you’ll find suggestions of ways to inspire creativity – for example, in our focus on “hot and cold” (from page 44) – but also insights into what adults can learn about children from their artistic endeavours (page 42). And there’s a timely reminder from page 16 of why those starting Reception shouldn’t be pushed towards more rigid methods of learning too soon.

Enjoy the issue!
Helen Mulley