Providing Creative Spaces for Babies and Toddlers

It is a common misconception that creative play is limited for children under three years of age. Often, this belief comes from thinking that creativity is only about art or craft and that a child's creation must have a recognisable purpose.

In reality, creativity begins from birth. With the right environment and carefully chosen materials, even the youngest children can explore, experiment and express themselves in meaningful ways. By documenting children's experiences and observing the creative process, educators and families gain valuable insights into each child's learning, curiosity and development.

Simplicity is Best

When it comes to creative play, quality is more important than quantity.

A small collection of carefully selected natural or everyday materials encourages children to become familiar with resources and discover new ways to use them over time. Simple experiences such as exploring colours, textures, sounds and patterns help lay the foundations for creativity.

For babies, placing paint inside a sealed zip-lock bag or covering it with bubble wrap allows little hands to safely explore colour and movement without the mess. As children grow, they enjoy experimenting with brushes, rollers and palm printing while discovering the cause-and-effect of creating marks on paper.

Introduce New Resources as Confidence Grows

As children's confidence develops, so too does their creativity.

Early scribbles made with chunky pencils gradually become drawings of familiar people, homes and everyday experiences. Through repetition, children strengthen their hand-eye coordination and become ready to explore new tools such as foam rollers, eye droppers and a wider range of art materials.

These skills naturally transfer into other learning experiences, including building, construction, music and imaginative play.

Make it a Multi-Sensory Experience

Creative play engages much more than just sight.

As children grow, their artwork can become part of imaginative play by transforming paintings into puppets, costumes or story props.

Adding music during creative experiences can inspire movement, storytelling and dance, while providing open access to simple musical instruments encourages even very young children to explore rhythm, sound and self-expression.

Embed Creative Thinking into Everyday Routines

Some of the best opportunities for creativity happen during everyday moments.

Allowing children to do things for themselves—such as opening packaging, choosing their clothes or helping solve simple problems—builds independence and creative thinking. Although it can sometimes take a little longer, resisting the urge to step in gives children valuable opportunities to develop confidence and problem-solving skills.

Asking children for their ideas and involving them in everyday decisions also strengthens their sense of agency and encourages them to become active participants in their own learning.

Reflect on Learning Together

Listening to children's ideas and supporting them to achieve their goals is an important part of creative learning.

Often children know exactly what they want to create but may not yet have the words to explain it. Working alongside children, asking questions and reflecting on their experiences helps shape future learning opportunities while encouraging curiosity and confidence.

Reflecting together also allows educators and families to celebrate progress and plan meaningful experiences based on children's interests.

Creativity is a Life Skill

The late Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognised education expert, famously said:

"Creativity is now as important in education as literacy."

Creative thinking helps children become confident learners, problem-solvers and independent thinkers. By providing open-ended experiences and involving children in planning their own learning, we help them see themselves as capable, creative individuals.

At Gubi Gabun, we believe every child is naturally creative. Through play, exploration and meaningful experiences, we nurture children's imagination, curiosity and confidence—skills that will support them throughout their lives.