Today is the last day of 2011. We teachers are always away from our work when one year slips into the next, but nonetheless this is an important place in time for us. We have half our year behind us, half the year ahead, a rare space to reflect on how far we’ve come and what lies ahead. We need this refresh to gather ideas and inspiration, the creative energy we draw on keep things alive in the classroom.

The first posts of this new year will focus on the topic of creativity. What is the importance of fostering creativity in children? How is it done? What does the brain research say? What approaches to fostering creativity have been shown to work in the early childhood classroom?

Questions such as these were the focus of the 2009 Johns Hopkins University Summit on Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts and the Brain. A pdf copy of this book is available for download in Neuroeducational Resources titled The Dana Foundation on Learning, Arts and The Brain. The work contains some great work on a very important subject in the  field of neuroeducation.

Before diving in to these questions, I wanted to offer a glimpse into a project undertaken with my class of preschoolers over the course of two years, beginning in 2007.

The Cheetah Project began nearly five years ago with the students at the Red Hook Playgroup collecting and sorting found items and materials that were no longer being used – but that they thought were beautiful. Our curriculum was based on Beautiful Stuff!, by Cathy Topal and Lella Gandini, an approach to fostering childrens’ creativity through work with found materials that was started by the Reggio Emila preschools in Italy. I will be exploring the Reggio approach and connections to research on creativity over the next months.

The children spent time in small groups, building sculptures with these materials, learning about connecting, stacking and arranging materials in order to defy gravity and build “up.” A local teaching artist came in to guide us through our final project, building something together. It was a group decision to build a big cheetah. The Cheetah became a character for the children, and inspired a story about what would happen if he were to come alive.

A year later we revisited our cheetah as a piece of art. We spent time just noticing its form, color, and the recycled materials we used. We talked about how we built the skeleton from wire, sticks and other hard materials, and then wrapped bubble wrap, wire and fabric around to make muscles and skin. The students noticed that its tail was once a Slinky, and its claws were once drinking straws!

The cheetah’s story continued to evolve as we used the sculpture as the basis for new art throughout the spring. All parts of the process were carefully documented, including the childrens’ art, the written story narrated in their own voices, and finally their live story-telling. The finished project is a true collaboration between children and artists working to bring their vision to life.

In the spring of 2009, childrens’ art was displayed for a month as part of a revolving local art exhibit at a neighborhood restaurant, the Hope and Anchor Diner. The film was shown at the closing, where members of the parent and local community came to see the childrens’ work.

Take a look yourself. Click on the picture below to watch the film. I welcome your comments and ideas regarding the role of creativity in the young child’s experience.