ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that creativity can, and should, be part of all areas of learning in the Early Years, and that through creative teaching, this can be an embedded and holistic approach rather than an addition to the main curriculum. Adopting a view of children as powerful, expressive, social and creative inevitably has implications for the role of the teacher in the Early Years. The distinctive pedagogy of Reggio Emilia was developed after the Second World War, with citizens investing in early education settings as democratic places to teach children to think for themselves. The ethos of the setting and values of the educators ought to shape the routines, structure and layout of creative practice. To elicit children's fascinations, the environment should prompt interest and wonder, with ample time for play, exploration and discovery. The children were invited to manipulate the images and objects to create their own shadowy woodland on the walls of the classroom.
