Know

Think about the word "creativity;" what does it mean to you? Can you think of a time when you thought totally "outside the box" or asked yourself, "Am I Creative?" What about when you were younger, did you love imaginative play? What about drawing, painting or making play-dough masterpieces? During our days of to-do lists and hurried moments, how wonderful it would be to have moments to treat our mind as a playground and think freely and creatively.

一些人认为创造力是找到方法来表达self openly and without judgment. When adults are open to expressing themselves and creating and exploring things based on their personal experiences and feelings, they are better able to support young children to do the same. Being creative does not mean you need to be a well-known artist or a great chef. Being creative means you are open to expressing yourself and investigating the world around you. It can also mean you work to find a new and better way of answering a question or solving a problem. Be it daydreaming, planning, changing - creativity can show itself in all people in different ways in everyday life.

Below are possible ideas you might consider if you're finding yourself in need of creativity:

• Ask yourself, "What if…?" as opposed to saying "I don't know." or "I can't."
• Take a different route to work or listen to a different radio station or music.
• 锻炼获得新的，新的想法 - 体力活动可以帮助刺激新的思想模式！
• Read books or watch programs about people whose creativity you admire.

What is Creativity?

Consider the following opinions that have been offered about creativity or creative individuals:

What words stand out to you as you read the above quotes? How do you define creativity or creative individuals?

正如您所看到的，创造力对不同的人有不同的含义。然而，创造力是每个人都存在的特征！Michael Kirton博士通过他的研究表明，所有人类都是独特，创造性的方式;这是我们可以培养和培养的性格。我们必须简单地了解一个人的创造力方法与他人不同;我们都是独一无二的。因此，重要的是要开始思考“如何”个人是创造性的，而不是“如果”是创造性的“如果”是创造性的（Cropley，2001）。

According to school technology consultant Doug Johnson (2012), creativity can be demonstrated in a number of ways:

• 作为作家，演示者和讲故事者
• As numeric problem-solvers
• As graphic artists through drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, and designing
• As athletes and dancers kinesthetically
• 作为音乐家创造新作品，表演和进行
• As humorists in all media
• As team-builders and collaborators
• 作为问题解决方案
• As inventors and systems innovators
• As leaders who organize, motivate, and inspire
• 作为借口制造者

At the end of the Learn section, download and print the handoutCreatively Speakingto access video links to watch and listen to some great thinkers share their views on creativity.

Creativity in Infants and Toddlers

For infants and toddlers, creativity is about active exploration, self-expression, and experimentation supported within the context of nurturing and responsive relationships. While young infants cannot cut with scissors or create their own short story, they can actively engage in exploration of their environment using all of their senses to learn how things work, taste, smell, feel, and sound.

Infants imitate the facial expressions and actions they see from their adult caregivers. They remember a lot of what they see, feel, and hear. As they get older and their skills are further developed, you will notice infants and toddlers reenacting their experiences. For example, an infant who drinks from a bottle while being cradled and gently rocked by her caregiver, may later hold a doll and pretend to feed the doll using a bottle.

Older infants and toddlers benefit from their growing physical and language skills which support their imaginative play and creativity. They display moments of pure focus as they explore places, combine materials and try out their new ideas. You might see a toddler, for example, singing and dancing to music or using different voices while playing with animals.

婴儿和幼儿的创造力是通过培养和反应的关系支持的。通过这种类型的护理，婴儿和幼儿可以自由地探索他们的环境并使用他们的想象力来安全。他们学会相信他们的照顾者将会值得重视并接受他们表达自己的方式，并试验他们的新想法。下面是一个图表，突出显示与创造力相关的婴儿和幼儿可能看出的不同行为：

Importance of Creativity, Active Exploration and Inquiry

Infants and toddlers learn from everything they do. They are naturally curious and have a drive to explore and discover. With the right amount of support and encouragement, infants and toddlers feel safe to explore and become curious, creative and adventurous learners.

As infants and toddlers explore, their goals remain simple – learn about the world by exploring and taking advantage of the opportunities available in the moment. Infants and toddlers strive to understand how things work and what they can make things do. The process of creating is more important than the product or end result. There is no right or wrong when creating.

婴儿和幼儿必须有机会模仿和创造反映自己经验，想法和感受的时刻。通过培养他们的自然好奇心，提供机会参与各种创造性的经历和活动，您正在帮助将能够为能够提供的婴儿和幼儿的建立技能：

• Share ideas and express themselves verbally and nonverbally - listening to stories and playing imaginary games helps support communication skills
• Express thoughts and feelings - pretend play for toddlers, for example, offers an opportunity for toddlers to be anyone they want, practice skills they have watched and learned, and explore different emotions
• 问题解决 - 研究人员发现，当他们年轻时的富有想象力的孩子往往会保持这种质量，因为它们变老，并成为更好的问题求解器
• 建立关系,与其他的关系rs

See

Making Sense of Creativity: Infants and Toddlers.

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There are many things you can do to show infants and toddlers that you recognize and appreciate their creativity:

• Make eye contact with and smile at infants and toddlers.
• 为开放式发现，探索和实验提供机会 - 鼓励他们作为该过程的一部分的努力。例如，允许幼儿使用块播放，但是它们想要而不是鼓励它们构建特定结构。
• 描述他们的创造力和你注意到的东西。例如，点作为婴儿看着镜子并说，“你在那里！有莎莉的美丽面孔！”
• 与婴儿和幼儿分享你所听到的，看等，在房间周围或在户外散步时。“你转过头，看着树。是的，有一只鸟为我们偷了一首歌。我也听到了。”
• Offer infants and toddlers as much time as needed for their ideas, exploration and responses.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course, the Creative ExpressionCompetency Reflection, and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Infant & Toddler Creative Expression课程指南.

请注意，每个课程结束时的引用和资源部分概述了参考源和资源，以查找有关所涵盖主题的其他信息。当您完成课程时，您预计不会审查所有可用的在线参考。但是，欢迎您进一步探索资源，如果您有兴趣或培训师，教练或管理员的要求进一步探索资源。