Handicrafts in developing children's creative attitude. Application in educational practice

Abstract

In the modern world, there is a need to foster creative attitudes from an early age. Guilford’s and Lowenfeld’s research has proven that developing a creative attitude through fields related to art (art and music) and technology is reflected in the development of creativity in later life, e.g., in learning process. Children have an innate need to create, transform and experiment. This is especially noticeable at pre-school and early school age when they are keenly interested in the objects and phenomena surrounding them. Handicrafts use natural materials in an unconventional way and provide children with real tools. They create surprising, new and curiosity-stimulating situations in which children can develop creative attitudes. The article describes the method of conducting classes according to a selected scenario (tic-tac-toe game) in a private kindergarten near Warsaw, where a pedagogical innovation was carried out involving the implementation of handicraft classes in the 2022/2023 school year. Pedagogical observation made it possible to draw the conclusion that handicraft workshops support the development of creative attitudes in preschool children and influence their agency, while the adult’s openness to implementing children’s ideas into practice strengthens children’s self-motivation and sense of coherence.