nurturing creativity and resilience in young children. all children at one point or another fall victims of circumstances. no child is immune to adversities and so it is important to understand how ho help them recover from such adversities. this material can be used for training, seminars and for personal development

1. Creativity and
ResilienceResilience
Jamlick Bosire
Early Childhood Development and
Education Specialist

2. ““As a specialist, JamlickAs a specialist, Jamlick
develops resources,develops resources,
provides training andprovides training and
professional consultancy toprofessional consultancy to
national and internationalnational and international
audiences on best practicesaudiences on best practices
to raise up a child with ato raise up a child with a
future.”future.”
ojamlick@yahoo.comojamlick@yahoo.com

3. It is important that you understandIt is important that you understand
children if you want to help them.children if you want to help them.
Children are individuals withChildren are individuals with
different needs and experiences. Todifferent needs and experiences. To
be an effective caregiver, it isbe an effective caregiver, it is
necessary to appreciate this.necessary to appreciate this.

4. “No child is, or can be, invulnerable to
emotional or physiological stress. Where
adversities are continuous and extreme, and
not moderated by factors external to the child,
creativity and resilience will be very key to
the child’s ability to cope with these
situations.”

5. CreativityCreativity
• 'Creativity is about liberating human energy
(Gardner, 1993)
• Creativity is coming up with something new e.g. a
product, solution, art work, literary work, joke etc.
that has some kind of value.
• Creativity is fluency and flexibility of thinking,
originality, perceptiveness of problems, and the
ability to redefine and elaborate ideas (Guildford,
1950).

6. ResilienceResilience
The general meaning of resilience
is derived from its Latin roots; 'to
jump or leap back' which is the
ability to recover from or adjust
easily to misfortune, adversity or
change.

7. Sources of creativitySources of creativity
* Ensuring continuous
enrichment of the environment;
* Providing creative programs
for developing divergent
thinking; and
* Availability of
caregivers/teachers who think
or present knowledge in new
ways.

8. Sources of resilienceSources of resilience
Grotberg (1994) reveals that
children draw from any one of three
sources of resilience features
described as: I have, I am & I can.
They are discussed separately
below.

9. I have factors:I have factors:
The I HAVE factors are the external supports and resources that promote
resilience. Before the child is aware of who she is (`I AM') or what she can do (`I
CAN'), she needs external supports and resources to develop the feelings of safety
and security that lay the foundation, that are the core, for developing resilience.
The resilient child for example confidently says that:
I Have..........
i) People around me I trust and who love me, no matter what
ii) People who set limits for me so I know when to stop before there is danger or
trouble.
iii) People who show me how to do things right by the way they do them.
iv) People who want me to learn to do things on my own..
v) People who help me when I am sick, in danger or in need to learn.

10. I am factorsI am factors
The I AM factors are the child's internal, personal strengths.
These are feelings, attitudes, and beliefs within the child. The
resilient child for example says ...
I AM:
i) A person people can like and love
ii) Glad to do nice things for others and show my concern-
iii) Respectful of myself and others-
iv) Willing to be responsible for what I do
v) Sure things will be all right- The child is filled with hope,
faith, and trust.

11. I can factorsI can factors
The I Can factors are the child's social and interpersonal
skills. Children learn these skills by interacting with others
and from those who teach them. The resilient child says I
can......
i) Talk to others about things that frighten me or bother me
ii) Find ways to solve problems that I face
iii) Control myself when I feel like doing something not right
or dangerous
iv) Figure out when it is a good time to talk to someone or to
take action v) Find someone to help me when I need it

12. Types of creativityTypes of creativity
Linguistic creativity – where one can be said to have a flair or gift
with words such as lyricists, writers, poets etc.
Logical-Mathematical – where one is exceptionally good with logical
and mathematical concepts and can usually explain complex concepts
in a manner lay-men can easily understand.
Musical – where one is gifted in composing music and or playing
musical instruments.
Visual-Spatial – here is where creativity is expressed in art –
paintings, drawings, sculptures etc.
Bodily-Kinaesthetic – here creativity is expressed through body
movements such as dance, gymnastics, acrobatics etc.

13. Types of resilienceTypes of resilience
Type One Resilience: The first type is represented by
children who do not succumb to adversities, in spite of their
high risk status, for example low birth weight babies.
Type Two Resilience: Type two concerns children who
develop coping strategies in situations of chronic stress, such
as children of drug using or alcoholic parents.
Type Three Resilience: It encompasses children who
have suffered extreme trauma, for example through disasters,
sudden loss of a close relative or abuse, and who have
recovered and prospered may be described as resilient.

14. Significance of creativitySignificance of creativity
Creativity help children to
become successful adults who
can question the accuracy of
information and put
information to constructive use.

15. Involvement of children in creative activities
has been found to reduce dropout rates and to
improve student motivation.

16. Mental health practitioners have also
discovered that creative activities can serve
to safeguard children from stress

17. Significance of resilienceSignificance of resilience
Resilience enables children to
develop social competence,
problem solving techniques,
autonomy, a sense of purpose
and a critical consciousness.

18. Social competenceSocial competence
Social competence
Includes qualities such as
responsiveness, especially
the ability to elicit positive
responses from others;
flexibility, including the
ability to move between
different cultures; empathy;
communication skills; and a
sense of humor.

19. Problem solvingProblem solving
Problem-solving skills
encompass the ability
to plan; to be
resourceful in seeking
help from others; and to
think critically,
creatively, and
reflectively.

20. AutonomyAutonomy
• Autonomy- is having a
sense of one's own
identity and an ability to
act independently and to
exert some control over
one's environment,
including a sense of task
mastery, internal locus of
control, and self-efficacy.

21. Children develop in social setting.Children develop in social setting.
• Care giving is aCare giving is a
powerful predictor ofpowerful predictor of
creativity andcreativity and
resilience.resilience.

22. Creativity and resilience in fCreativity and resilience in familyamily
Mutual and frank
expression of feelings
and clear communication
between family members
to solve their problems
are key factors.
Begin in early years.arly years.

23. Troubled familiesTroubled families
A troubled family can indeed
inflict considerable harm on its
children, but resilient people
are challenged by such
troubles to experiment and
respond actively and
creatively. Their pre-emptive
responses to adversity,
repeated over time, become
incorporated into their inner
selves as lasting strengths.

24. Creativity and resilience at schoolCreativity and resilience at school
‘‘The best educationThe best education
has creativity at itshas creativity at its
heart.’heart.’ House ofHouse of
Commons EducationCommons Education
and Skills Committee,and Skills Committee,
20072007

25. Creativity and resilience with peersCreativity and resilience with peers
It is common knowledge
that peers influence
others to do things they
might not do on their
own and also
discourage others from
being creative and
resilient in the name of
conforming.

26. Protective factors within the communityProtective factors within the community
Children are socialized in family and school.Children are socialized in family and school.
However, community is also important. It hasHowever, community is also important. It has
profound influence on the “lives” of familiesprofound influence on the “lives” of families
and schools. Capacity of community to buildand schools. Capacity of community to build
resilience is called community competence.resilience is called community competence.

27. Community ParticipationCommunity Participation
• Cross-cultural studies have shown thatCross-cultural studies have shown that
“youth participation in socially and/or“youth participation in socially and/or
economically useful tasks is associated witheconomically useful tasks is associated with
heightened self-esteem, enhanced moralheightened self-esteem, enhanced moral
development, increased political activismdevelopment, increased political activism
and the ability to create and maintainand the ability to create and maintain
complex social relationships (Kurth-Schai,complex social relationships (Kurth-Schai,
1988).”1988).”

28. “Resilience is accepting your new reality,
even if it's less good than the one you had
before. You can fight it, you can do
nothing but scream about what you've
lost, or you can accept that and try to put
together something that's good.”
― Elizabeth Edwards

29. • “There comes a time in your life, when
you walk away from all the drama and
people who create it. You surround
yourself with people who make you
laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the
good. Love the people who treat you
right, pray for the ones who do not. Life
is too short to be anything but happy.
Falling down is a part of life, getting
back up is living.”

30. “Don't be satisfied with
stories, how things have gone
with others. Unfold your own
myth.”
― Rumi, The Essential Rumi

31. Creativity is not only in-born; it can
also be instilled if the right
environment is provided. Research
has shown that creativity is a skill
that caregivers can help children
develop.

32. Resilience is a basic human capacity
(innate), nascent (growing) in all
children. Parents and other care
givers promote resilience in children
through their words, actions, and the
environment they provide.

33. Jamlick BosireJamlick Bosire
New Horizon Consultancy ServicesNew Horizon Consultancy Services
P. O. Box 1675-80200, Malindi- KenyaP. O. Box 1675-80200, Malindi- Kenya
ojamlick@yahoo.comojamlick@yahoo.com