To foster creativity and divergent thinking in children, they must be given opportunities to experiment, feel, touch, get excited and be engaged. From birth to two years, children are in the preoperational stage of development. During this time, it is best to provide them with multi-sensory experiences which engage all their senses. Providing open-ended materials which engage all their senses, such as play dough, water, and sand, enables children to explore, be engaged with the activity, and be creative with what they produce with the materials.

Children who have choice and autonomy are more engaged when they play and will more likely be able to explore and come up with more creative and divergent (out of the box) thinking.

Read more at AL-CRE-C02 & AL-CRE-C03.