I Learned Creative Activities Chapter 2

I learned that creative thinking is not a station one arrives at, but a means of traveling. I
really like that being of the chapter because they are traveling to each center, because it is like
they are traveling to a place and exploring learning new things, challenging their brains on new
ways to do things. I learned that to be able to express their creative potential, young children
need knowledge and skills. They are both necessary before creative potential can have true
meaning. The curriculum is the teachers choice of what knowledge and skills are important and
also developmentally appropriate for a particular group of children. Jean Piaget said if you
want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes
children before they are determined by society. Children need to have basic knowledge and
skills but they also need to have the opportunity to explore before any formal experiences take
place.
Curriculum can be viewed as an outline of knowledge and skills to be learned rather
than as a recipe for how they must be taught. I learned the term learn implies that exploration
and play are part of the process; the term recipe denotes a careful following of steps in a
specific order and amount to come up with one precise product. Creativity and curriculum
complement each other. When modifying curriculum to encourage creative thinking, consider
the following points: The curriculum must be developmentally appropriate for young children,
be alert and aware of childrens interests, and provide a variety of materials that encourage
childrens creative exploration, in planning curriculum, consider all the types of learning styles
and multiple intelligences of children in your group, encourage childrens divergent thinking
and curiosity, encourage older childrens curiosity by giving credit in your grading system for
questioning, and be sure to provide opportunities for children to interact and communicate
with other children. I learned we can challenge ourselves as teachers. A way we can do this is to
reflect on the ways we are providing challenges in our program. We need to ask ourselves
question like: do I take time to observe children in action before stepping in to reach, do I
provide opportunities for children to use new understandings and skills in many different
situations before moving to the next skill, do I provide open-ended activities for children and do
I add or modify the materials in learning centers or stations as I perceive children are ready for
change. I think reflecting on each day helps you approve the quality of your program because it
helps you see where each child is and where it can be improved. I learned what integrated
curriculum is. It is the artificial divisions among content areas are reduced. An integrated
curriculum is designed around a unit of study centered on a specific theme or project. In a
integrated curriculum children are able to experiences learning as a whole.
I also learned about differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is a way of
thinking about teaching and learning. The beliefs of differentiated instruction are as follows:
children who are the same age are different in their readiness to learn, their interests, their
styles of learning, their experiences and their life circumstances, these differences in children
affect what they need to learn, the pace at which they need to learn it, and the support they
need from teachers and others to learn it well, children will learn best when they can make a
connection between the curriculum and their interests and life experiences, children will learn
best when learning opportunities are natural, children are more effective learners when
classrooms and schools create a sense of community in which children feel significant and
respected and the central job of teachers and schools is to maximize the capacity of each
student. One of the components of differentiated instruction is the understanding of the
different ways children learn. An important factor in understanding learning styles is
understanding brain functioning. Right-brained or left-brained refers to the learning
preferences based on functional differences between the hemispheres of the brain. The left
brain is considered analytic in approach. The left-brain prefers to learn in a step-by-step
sequential format, beginning with details leading up to understanding a concept or acquiring a
skill. The right brain is described as holistic or global. The right brain prefers to learn beginning
with the general concept and then go on to the specifics. The left hemisphere, the skills best
developed in this side of the brain are handwriting, understanding symbols, language, reading,
and phonics. The right hemisphere, is associated with an entirely different set of skills. The right
hemisphere has the ability to recognize and process nonverbal sounds. It also governs our
ability to communicate using body language.
I learned about promoting creativity through positive acceptance. These help foster
creativity in any situation: openly demonstrate to young children that there is value in their
curiosity, exploration, and original behavior, allow children to go at their own pace when they
are carrying out an activity that excites and interests them, let children stay with what they are
making until they feel its finished, let children figure out their own ways of doing things if they
prefer to do so, keep the atmosphere relaxed and encourage guessing, especially when the
answers make sense. I learned about working with older children, here are some suggestions to
help encourage older childrens creativity: avoid setting up competitive situations for children,
downplay your evaluation of childrens work, encourage children to monitor their own work
rather than rely on your surveillance of them, whenever possible, give children choices about
what activities they do and about how to do those activities and give children ample
opportunities for free play with various materials, and allow them to engage in fantasy
whenever possible.
I learned there are several ways to help children become motivated for the creative
process. Their physical needs, make sure they are well rested and physical fit. Interests, try to
find out and then use, what naturally interests the child. Friends, permit children to work with
their friends. Activities for fun, allow the activity to be fun for the child. Goals, permit children
to set and reach goals. Variety, vary the content and style of what the children can do.
Challenge, challenge the children. Reinforcement, reinforce the creative behavior of children.
Every child is creative its just letting them express that creativity and giving them the
materials and content for their creativity.