During the recent ‘Book Week’ that took place at YCIS Shanghai Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Primary campuses, children participated in many activities, including showcasing their imagination while creating their own book stories. The project allowed the children to bring their current interests to life in a real-world context, practice their drawing skills, and learn about the different components of a book and the meaning of storyline. Older children at the emergent writing stage even contributed to the texts and titles. These books bring the children’s fantasy to life, and everybody can now enjoy the fruits of their creativity by stepping into the library and delving into the books.

Sharing and respecting each other’s ideas, listening to one another, taking turns, and building on confidence to share their viewpoints were some of the dispositions the children learned during the creation of the books. Seeing their contributions and artwork acknowledged and on display gave the children a great sense of pride. It showed that the teachers value and respect their ideas and that they are worthy of respect and admiration. 

One particular book that exemplifies the children’s creativity is ‘The Dinosaur’, a magic story about the discovery of a dinosaur’s ‘foot’ at school by a K4 class at YCIS Puxi.

The power of children’s imagination is one of the most important resources during their learning. Encouraging children to express their creativity and imagination helps them transform and develop into creative thinkers and problem solvers who will, one day, change the world.