Creative play is an activity that varies across individuals, cultures, and communities. It fosters curiosity, joy, and lifelong learning, promoting accessibility and meaningfulness for all children. These resources underscore the importance of creativity in young children and support their development through playful experiences.
Encourage children to explore their senses, stretch fine motor skills, and be creative using materials of different colors, textures, sizes, and more. What can children mold, manipulate, stack, arrange, pattern, color, or imagine as they explore 3D art?
Messy play is a great way to experience natural elements with all the senses. Help children explore textures, sounds, and smells of materials. Make a mud puddle outside for children to splash in; use a sensory table to splash, scoop, and pour water; and more!
Invite children to go on an adventure to find bugs on your outdoor area, backyard, or local playground. Ask children where they think they will find insects — always following their lead in the shared exploration.
Did you know that experimenting with rhythm connects music, math, and culture? Model musical exploration, share in the joy, and follow children’s interests with types of music and ways to express themselves..
Make-believe play is an important part of a research-based curriculum and practices you use every day. The sky is the limit as children create play experiences to explore scenarios from their world and beyond!
Staff can use this information to plan and carry out open ended, joyful play activities with children enrolled in Head Start programs.
Play is more than fun; it supports infant and toddler learning across domains. Discover strategies for effectively managing and scaffolding play and creating play-friendly activities and environments.
Children learn through play every single day. Watch these videos to find out what — and how — children learn as they play.
Play is an important part of learning across the early childhood years. In this webinar, learn how play builds critical cognitive and behavioral skills across the birth to age 5 years. Find out what play looks like for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Not only is music enjoyable for infants and toddlers, but it can also provide a connection to home, opportunities to learn, and a way to connect with caring adults. Explore this useful information for teachers, home visitors, and parents about how music supports development across domains.