Cultivating Creativity Webinar: Process Art & Play in Early Learning Classrooms

As early childhood educators, we know that play-based, open-ended experiences in preschool set the stage for literacy, strengthen vocabulary, and engage the brain in higher-level thinking, like asking questions, generating ideas, and problem-solving. Most of all, programs in which children feel safe to explore and have agency over their choices are joyful environments where the children and adults build imagination, flexible thinking, and confidence.

This webinar, hosted by Early Learning Investigations, is about bolstering creativity through process art and play. Whether your classroom or program is already a joyful mecca of creativity, or you need a boost to shift from more teacher-directed or guided art-making experiences to child-initiated experiences, this webinar is for you.

In this presentation, Shannon Merenstein and Bar Rucci, co-founders of The Creativity Project, and Dahlia Rao, Director of Hatch Partners in Play, will show participants how to move along the continuum to open-ended art and play experiences that truly nurture creativity, belonging, agency, and flow. This webinar will explore how simple shifts in how we think about materials, the environment, and the learners can contribute to a classroom of children in flow, expressing and exploring, teaching each other, and learning joyfully.

In this presentation, participants will…

Reflect on your practice in inviting and supporting open-ended art and play.
Understand the differences between guided/directed art and play and experiences that prioritize choice and agency.
Recognize the benefits of process art and play for the whole child.
Plan for an open-ended experience with everyday materials in your classroom.
Embrace a flexible mindset and belief that children are capable and full of creative potential