Supporting Childrens Creativity Through Music, Dance, Drama and Art ─ Creative Conversations in the Early Years

There is a growing awareness in Early Years education that an essential part of children’s development involves creative engagement through language, gestures, body movements, drawing and music; creating shared meanings in playful contexts.

Supporting Children’s Creativity through Music, Dance, Drama and Art brings together contributions from a range of professionals and early years practitioners, to help readers implement the themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework in a creative way. Emphasising the need for responsive adults and a creative atmosphere for learning, this book covers:

• How to promote a creative classroom effectively
• The importance of talking and listening in groups
• Working with community artists
• Music-making and story-telling in the classroom
• Practical resources and theoretical grounding
• Making use of the ‘talking table’ technique

With practical case studies drawn from a range of contexts, this book highlights the contribution that creativity makes to children’s learning and social development, illustrated through practical suggestions and feedback from tried and tested methods.

Appealing to all with an interest in Early Years practice, this book demonstrates how practitioners can put excitement and inspiration back into the learning process, and guides them to encourage and support the creative capacities of young children.

Fleur Griffiths is a retired nursery teacher/ educational psychologist/ senior lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at Sunderland University. In retirement she has worked on a contract basis as an educational consultant in Foundation Stage settings in local authorities. She has also contributed to the delivery of CPD training for teachers in Hartlepool.