Creativity is Serious Business

 

Creativity is a higher order thinking skill. It not only affords us to express ourselves, but to explore new ideas, ways of thinking, and problem solve.

By experimenting with their ideas, students rehearse the connections between ideas and solutions, problem solve in concrete ways, and gain confidence in their abilities.
 

Working creatively in groups exercises both divergent thinking (generating multiple ideas) and convergent thinking (figuring out what ideas work). Students learn from each other through observation and conversation, linking valuable communication and collaboration skills into the process.

In one provocation, we set out many balls of uncolored play dough, and a selection of primary colored paints. We ask the students,

"What colors of play dough can you make?"

Students began to add drops of paint onto their play dough, and displayed a variety of methods to mix the color in, such as pounding, pressing, rolling, kneading, poking...

A couple of students began adding multiple colors, pronouncing, "I got green!", and "I'm making a rainbow!"

Other students noticed and wanted to try that, too. Some observed, some asked questions of each other, and some just dove right in. Much sharing of acquired knowledge ensued!









It became a wonderful session of collaborative exploration and imagination!











Play dough and paint turned into purple snails for the garden, volcanoes erupting brown and and black lava, forests of cookies and multicolored cupcakes, and airplanes and trains traveling to a rainbow mountain at the opposite end of the table!

Gardening

Our young scientists notice growth in our garden.   

We started a sprouting mung bean experiment. Some young scientists added a lot of water while others only added a little water. We placed our beans in the sun. We observed the differences.   

  

Friendship & Community

Building friendships and sharing our space.