Have you seen your child creating a project using materials like pipe cleaners, cardboard, glue, and paint? Is your child a dancer or gymnast who enjoys doing handstands and pirouettes? Or maybe your child likes to explore sounds with the keyboard or guitar. 

If you think about it, children are drawn to ways to express themselves and have fun doing it. Children’s creative process involves exploring and experimenting with new materials, colors, music, and movements. Their creative process is made by curiosity and inspiration.  

Creative expression nurtures children’s emotional health. Children need to express their feelings and thoughts in different ways, it is important to encourage children’s creative expression so they can freely express themselves. Children can use music, art, drama, and movement to transmit their emotions. Creative expression supports mental health because we release anxieties, fears, anger, depression, traumas, and also joy. Children that are encouraged and nurtured to express themselves creatively, achieve their full potential. 

Mental health has been important since the early years. Some people can go through trauma, and creative expression is part of their coping mechanism. If people are encouraged to freely express themselves from an early age, the chances of developing healthy coping mechanisms are much higher. Mental health impacts our daily life and it should be considered a priority. 

For children, the creative process is important because it encourages open-ended thinking, problem-solving, and their confidence. While exploring materials, imagining possibilities, and watching their creativity unravel before their eyes, children develop cognitive and emotional skills, and a deeper appreciation of their own identity.

At Verde Wildwood Forest School, we consider self-exploration to be a top priority. As children enjoy their creative process outdoors, they learn to discover themselves.