Creativity is not confined to the Arts, nor to one corner of the room. Research shows that creativity involves the whole brain, so why not transform the whole learning space into an ongoing creative and stimulating experience?
When we strip away the clutter, listen more than we speak, and honour every child's authentic voice, the classroom becomes a canvas for creative thinking.
Pathway 1: Read the theory
Understanding children's intelligence and creativity is crucial in recognising their potential as future innovators. From their first steps into an educational setting, children bring a rich tapestry of ideas, fuelled by an unquenchable curiosity to explore and understand the world.
The idea that creativity is fostered only in the right side of the brain is false, a myth that has lasted long past its time. Scientific research shows that creativity is located in different parts of the brain depending on the domain and the brain's subcomponents. Creativity involves the whole brain, which means the classroom should be just as diverse as the brain's capacity to be creative as a whole. So why would we teach creatively only during the Arts, and design only one area of the classroom as the creative expression area? Why not transform the whole learning space into an ongoing creative and stimulating experience?
It is within our schools that we must foster an environment that empowers children to express their thoughts, ideas and questions freely and without fear of ridicule or humiliation. The impact of truly listening to a child reveals that adults have much to learn from the young minds in their care. Educators are encouraged to strip away the clutter of traditional classroom displays, creating a blank canvas for children's artistry. By framing a child's artwork with respect and admiration, we acknowledge their effort and creativity, setting a precedent for how they come to value their own work and that of others.
Displays of student work should authentically represent their voices. If a child is particularly proud of a creation, that piece deserves a place of honour in the classroom, provided it is appropriate. Editing a student's original work undermines their ownership and should be avoided. Instead, display the unaltered piece, celebrating the learning process even when it includes imperfections. This encourages students to take pride in their progress and to understand the value of revising their own work.
"Think beyond the box; perhaps it is even time to discard the box altogether."— J. Da Silva
When engaging with the creative arts, particularly the personal endeavour of drawing self-portraits, we step into a space deeply intertwined with individual identity and self-expression. As educators, it is vital to recognise and respect the diverse cultural backgrounds and values of our students. Not all cultures are comfortable with drawing human likenesses; for some it may conflict with their beliefs or traditions. In these instances it is our responsibility to adapt, providing alternative avenues for children to engage with the concept of identity, through poetry, storytelling, music, dance or abstract art. These forms allow children to share their understanding of who they are without needing to create a visual representation of their physical appearance. Viewing children as co-creators in the learning journey, educators can craft experiences that are enjoyable, stimulating and meaningful.
Once upon a time in 2010, nestled in the heart of Tuscany, I found myself at an international school alive with the spirit of exploration. My proximity to the Reggio Emilia institute and approach, both geographically and philosophically, inspired me to dive deeply into the exploration of colour with my students. Returning from the autumn holidays, inspired by the Tuscan landscape's palette, we explored the countless shades of red, orange, brown and green. Each day was dedicated to a single colour, allowing the children to "accidentally" discover, through play and experimentation, the beauty of shading and mixing colours.
After several enriching years in Italy, my journey took me to Amsterdam, where the Dutch skies offered a new canvas of inspiration. One morning, mesmerised by the sunrise, I posed an inquiry to my students: "Where do the colours in the sky come from?" Their colourful responses, in a Group 2 class led by Mrs. Anna Collinge, ranged from "Maybe people put glitter in the clouds" to "The clouds copy the rainbow" and "Aeroplanes release the paint and that turns the clouds colourful." The culmination was an invitation to paint the most memorable sunrise or sunset they could recall or imagine.
One painting challenged my expectations. A young girl chose to use only black to depict her most memorable sunrise and sunset. Initially puzzled, I resisted the urge to guide her towards the vibrant colours we had been exploring. When she shared her story, revealing that her most vivid memories of sunrises and sunsets were those spent in a dark bunker during the war, I was reminded of the power of listening, and of the importance of valuing each child's unique perspective and experience. This underscored a critical message for educators: the importance of listening more than we speak. Our role is not to impose our perceptions of beauty or correctness, but to facilitate an environment where every child feels seen, heard and valued for their authentic self.
Open-ended questions are the keys that unlock the treasure chests of students' minds. By asking, "Oh really, tell me more," we invite a child to expand on their thoughts. Inquiring, "Why do you think that?" encourages them to articulate the architecture of their reasoning, while "How does that make you feel?" is an invitation into the realm of their emotions. Questions such as "How do you know that?", "What does this remind you of?" and "What connections can you make to this?" urge students to weave threads between ideas and experiences. Allow for misconceptions at the beginning of the conversation and, through experimentation, facilitate a learning experience where children discover the facts for themselves.
The "5 Why's" technique is an effective process for delving into the underlying causes of a situation or belief. It guides students through deeper levels of reflection and enhances their critical thinking: beginning a question with curiosity, probing the response, gently challenging assumptions, expressing genuine interest, and finally agreeing or disagreeing respectfully while asking one last reflective question. You will find the full technique set out, ready to use, in the Try pathway.
The power of open-ended questions is well documented. Drawing on: Dillon (1988) · Ritchhart & Church (2007) · Marzano (2001) · Murdoch (2012).
Digital literacy tools can transform the classroom into a dynamic, interactive space that ignites the imaginations of both students and teachers. With access to digital art programs, music creation apps and coding platforms, students can express ideas in novel ways, pushing the boundaries of traditional narratives and designs. This freedom to create and manipulate digital media encourages divergent thinking, a key component of creativity, allowing students to explore multiple solutions to a problem or to represent a concept in a unique way. As students navigate and articulate their creative processes, language development and metacognition, thinking about their thinking, are strengthened too.
Thoughtfully chosen tools turn abstract concepts into tangible, interactive experiences: children can travel through time with history apps, explore a letter in a virtual world during a phonics lesson, or record their learning behind a QR code for families to scan at home. A few tools worth exploring include Class VR, Tynker, Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots, Canva, Keynote, iMovie, stop-motion animation apps and Poplet for mind-mapping. Chosen with care, digital tools make learning not only more engaging, but genuinely more fun.
Drawing on: Dillon (1988) · Ritchhart & Church (2007) · Marzano (2001) · Murdoch (2012) · the Reggio Emilia approach.
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Check your understanding
1. What does current research say about creativity and the brain?
2. If creativity is whole-brain, what follows for classroom design?
3. How should a child's displayed artwork be treated?
4. A child's culture does not permit drawing human likenesses for a self-portrait task. What is the responsive approach?
5. What was the lesson of the "black sunrise" painting in the Story time?
Pathway 2: See it in practice
Look closely at how children's creative thinking is expressed and displayed.
A display of creative work is a window into a child's voice. Explore the examples below and notice whose voice is on show, whether the work is authentic and unaltered, and how many ways children are invited to express their ideas.
Click on an image to enlarge it and study it carefully.
Creative expression across the classroom
A blank, uncluttered canvas lets the children's own artistry take centre stage.
A child's artwork framed with respect and admiration, given a place of honour.
Work displayed unaltered, celebrating the learning process rather than perfection.
Colour exploration: children discover shading and mixing through play and experimentation.
"Where do the colours in the sky come from?" Paintings of a memorable sunrise or sunset.
Identity expressed beyond the self-portrait, through poetry, storytelling, music or abstract art.
A phonics lesson in a virtual world: experiencing what a letter may feel like as its sound comes alive.
A QR code beside the work lets families scan and watch a child explain their learning process.
Digital tools open novel ways to create, encouraging divergent thinking and multiple solutions.
"Displays of student work should authentically represent their voices."— J. Da Silva
Look again, slowly. This time, notice how much of the display carries the child's hand, and how much carries the teacher's.
Check your understanding
1. What should displays of student work authentically represent?
2. A display bears "too heavy a mark of the teacher's own hand." What does this tell you?
3. Why frame a child's artwork with respect and admiration?
4. How should imperfections in displayed work be treated?
5. Which classroom best reflects creative expression?
Pathway 4: Try it yourself
Choose a moment this week to sit beside a child and use the "5 Why's" technique. It is a simple, powerful way to delve into the underlying causes of a situation or belief, to deepen reflection, and to nurture critical thinking, while modelling how to navigate complex ideas together.
Figure: The 5 Why's, J. Da Silva's (2018) interpretation of Kath Murdoch's (2012) 5 Why's, which itself grew from "The 3 Whys" thinking routine developed at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Remember to allow for misconceptions at the beginning of the conversation. Rather than correcting a child's first answer, follow it with another gentle "why", and let experimentation and dialogue lead them to discover the facts for themselves. This iterative questioning not only encourages children to think more deeply, it also helps you understand their thought process, so you can model how to build on an initial reaction to reach a more substantial conclusion.
A print-ready thinking routine: the 5 Why's cycle diagram, the five questions step by step, and a teacher companion with open-ended questions and reflection prompts.
A printable, teacher-facing planner: how to use the 5 Why's and open-ended questions to nurture creative thinking, with a ready-to-use lesson built around authentic creative expression.
During our whole-school How We Express Ourselves unit, the Arts teacher invited parents into a creative provocation. Rather than handing them a fixed outcome to copy, parents were offered materials, an open invitation to create, and a shared challenge: to make many individual pieces that could later be brought together into one collaborative artwork for the school.
The purpose was never simply to make art. It was to model how inquiry, creativity and community come together. Parents were encouraged to experiment, make choices, respond to one another's ideas, and contribute something personal to a larger collective piece.
Parents can be valuable partners in inquiry when they are invited to participate, create, question and contribute, rather than only to observe finished learning. When we open the process to families, and not just the product, they feel the same curiosity and ownership we hope to nurture in the children.
When families are invited into the process of learning, the classroom community becomes richer, more connected and more creative.
From individual expression to collective creation
The value lies as much in the process as in the finished artwork. Each contribution remains individually meaningful, while becoming part of something larger.
Check your understanding
1. The 5 Why's opens by asking with curiosity. How should that first "why" be asked?
2. After the child's first answer, the second move is to go deeper. What is the aim of this "why"?
3. The third move gently challenges assumptions. What does this encourage in the child?
4. The fourth move is to express interest and ask further. What is it mainly there to do?
5. At the final "why", you disagree with the child's answer. How does the technique suggest you respond?
Pathway 5: Classroom management
Creative expression flourishes in a classroom that treats children's work as something precious. When we clear the clutter, display authentic voice, and present each piece with respect, the walls themselves tell children that their ideas matter.
Strip away the clutter of traditional displays to create a blank canvas for the children's artistry. Resist the red pen and the tidying hand: display work unaltered, so it keeps its honesty and its owner. Give pieces children are proud of a genuine place of honour, and present every child's work, whatever form it takes, with admiration and respect for their effort, their creativity and their cultural heritage.
"By framing a child's artwork with respect and admiration, we acknowledge their effort and creativity."— J. Da Silva
1. A blank canvas
Audit your walls. Decide what clutter you could clear to make room for the children's own artistry.
Quick note
What could I take down to create a blank canvas for the children's work?
2. Authentic and unaltered
Decide how you will display work in the children's own hand, without editing or correcting it.
Quick note
How will I celebrate the process, imperfections and all, rather than only the perfect piece?
3. Every voice, every culture
Plan the alternative avenues you will offer so every child can express identity in a way that honours their culture.
Quick note
Which avenues, art, poetry, music, dance, digital or abstract, will I make available?
An inviting new space is only half the work. When a corner or a provocation is presented so beautifully, children are drawn to it with real excitement, and that excitement needs direction. Take the time to teach children how the space works, and build clear classroom agreements together: how we treat the materials, how many of us use the space at once, how we care for one another's work, and how we leave it ready for the next person.
Skip this step and a beautiful learning experience can be undone in minutes, not because the children do not care, but because their excitement outruns their understanding of how to use the space. Materials get muddled or spoiled, the calm is lost, and what could have been rich, sustained learning falls apart. A few minutes spent walking children through how we engage with a space protects the learning it was designed to spark, and gives children a responsibility they carry into every new space they meet.
Check your understanding
1. Why should a child's original work be displayed unaltered, without editing or correcting it?
2. A task asks children to draw a self-portrait, but it conflicts with one child's culture. What should you do?
3. On an interactive display, how do we want children to treat a classmate's work and thinking?
4. You have set up a beautifully presented new space. What should come first?
5. Why can a beautiful new learning space sometimes descend into chaos?