Creativity is an integral part of early childhood education that allows children to establish their cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. Creativity is not necessarily about creating art- it's about empowering children with a sense of confidence as thinkers and problem solvers. Through drawing, painting, role-playing, music, and storytelling, children are encouraged to explore, to imagine, and to communicate their own perspectives. Not only does this reinforce self-esteem, but it also reinforces communication and teamwork skills (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).

When creativity becomes a part of the curriculum, it enables children to convey identity, emotion, and ideas in their own way. They are taught to do and undo, which renders them strong and promotes flexible thinking. Providing children with creative learning experiences enables them to be active participants in collaborating with materials, choosing, and being responsible for learning (Isbell & Yoshizawa, 2020). Children also feel pride when they observe their creative work being appreciated, which generates a feeling of pride and the urge to discover more.

The Early Years Learning Framework (AGDE, 2022) encourages creativity throughout each of the learning outcomes. For example, Outcome 1 entails children developing a sense of self through being creative. Outcome 2 is where creativity is within relationships and senses of belonging. Outcome 3 encourages children's wellbeing, which is continually developing through joyful creative play. Outcome 4 promotes creativity as a way of fostering critical thinking, experimentation, and innovation, and of turning children into confident and active learners. Outcome 5 understands that creative experiences help to develop children's language and communication abilities, especially when they are explaining their work or acting out a story in roleplay or puppetry.

Creativity is associated with every curriculum subject area. Through drawing, sculpting, and painting, children learn about colour, shape, and texture. Through the use of drama and puppetry, children learn about communicating thought, character, or feeling through voice, movement, and story. Music and movement offer the possibilities of rhythmic play, body awareness, coordination, and emotional release. Creativity also plays a significant part in mathematics and science. The children use pattern, design, and experiment to create real problems or come up with new ones. Rational as well as creative thinking is nurtured by these.

There are several learning theories that support the inclusion of creativity in the early childhood phase. Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences describes children learn in various ways music, visual arts, body language, nature, or people (Gardner, 2011). Providing creative learning areas caters to all learners (Gardner, 2011). Jean Piaget believed that children would learn optimally through play and doing things with their hands, what art, craft, and drama inevitably involve (Piaget, 1962). Lev Vygotsky was more concerned with social learning and saw pretend play as children practicing real-life skills, language, and cooperation (Vygotsky, 1978).

Early childhood teachers play a significant role in creating contexts where creativity can flourish. This is done by providing open-ended material, promoting discovery, and challenging the children through questioning instead of demanding perfection. As children learn with creativity embedded in the curriculum, they gain lifelong skills that promote learning and wellbeing.