Welcome to the Play Based Learning Podcast.

I'm your host, Kristen Arby Peterson, and maybe your new teacher, Bestie, that is here to hype you up, maybe give you a motivating kick in the pants, and teach you all I know about play and childhood.

I am here to help you challenge old and outdated practices and inspire you to create a truly developmentally appropriate early childhood environment that fosters creativity, passion, Curiosity and joy in the children that you care for.

Let's set the stage for a lifelong love of learning.

Let's get going.

Welcome to the Play Based Learning Podcast.

I told you I was going to open differently now, every time.

I don't know, we'll see if I remember.

Okay, we have Beverly back for part three of our creativity series.

And I'm, I am not going to say anymore because she wants to do the intro.

Still, I would like to, um, say something to Kristen.

It came to me the night when I was falling asleep and I thought, It's too funny not to say.

Okay.

I was like, um, be ready.

You ready?

Ready?

Ready?

No, I'm not ready.

Hold on.

Okay.

I'm ready.

Ready?

Yeah.

Welcome to the artist formerly known as Kristen R.

B.

Peterson.

She is creative confetti, a true inspiration, a rule breaker, a movement maker.

bright and bubbly, awesome and lovely.

Now let's celebrate her new name, Kristen Renée Day, an advocate and expert all about learning through play.

Oh my gosh, I love it.

Oh, thanks.

Um, and So, hey, you just got, you just, you just got in on, like, maybe you've seen, I'm talking to the, to the listeners, um, so if you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some changes around there.

I am legally changing, and as of this podcast recording, it's not changed yet.

It will change in two weeks.

My new official legal name will be Kristen Day.

And I'm so excited.

Just shedding the old, welcoming in the new.

And just Yeah, so I'm just so excited for a new, fresh, light chapter.

Mm hmm.

I love that.

I mean, I think it totally suits you, and I think it rhymes with play, which is amazing.

Right?

Yeah, absolutely.

I didn't do that on purpose.

But it just fits because it's, it's, it's creative, you're creative and it works and your friends are creative and awesome.

So yeah, I think it's lovely.

You might think it's silly, but I just, it just came to me and I was like, I just think of these random things that rhyme, I don't know why, rhyming.

I just love it.

And it just came to me.

I love that!

That was so true!

I, I have recorded the video.

I recorded it.

If you didn't see that, I was recording.

That's okay.

Stop.

Don't worry.

You can put my crazy all over the place.

All right.

We are talking about getting into flow, create, getting into creative flow as adults, getting into play as adults, and what that looks like for each of us.

And maybe you can take some tips and tricks away that we, we do.

Um, because, you know, I mean, like, we're the coolest creative people out there.

So, just, I'm sure there's plenty of other very creative people out there.

There are.

But, um, I pride myself on being creative and being, like, playful and living my life in play.

So, it's like the foundation of who I am.

Yeah.

And, like, why not?

Cause Yeah!

Why not?

That's why we left, right?

Yeah!

Absolutely!

Okay, so, let's, uh So, I was Oh, okay, do you have No.

You have some No, no, you're fine.

I was thinking that, since we've done the series, the 1, 2, 3, Yeah, yeah.

That maybe we go back to, um, the quote that we did, that, from Pablo Picasso, Yeah.

The problem is how to remain an artist.

Once you grow up.

Yeah.

Okay, so how, how do you remain an artist as you've aged?

Um, And also, if they haven't listened to the last two, we should maybe like, I feel, and that you don't have to be what, when you think artist you think painter, drawer, you know, things like that.

You don't, that is not a qualification of being creative at all.

So you can be creative in many other aspects, um, I am not a drawer or a painter.

And I believe that I am a very creative person.

So, um, I just wanted to like add that little thing in there before you tell us how you explore creativity.

Yeah, because I am an artist and I've always been like I trained in art and everything and I've since I was no age I was creating stuff, but put me on the stage like to talk to people is fine like if I'm doing a lecture or something, but see if you give me a script and ask me to to dance or act or I literally would pass out with fear.

That's not anything that I could do.

Oh my gosh, and I love doing that.

Oh, I know you do.

That's why I cut all this, but I just, no, no, no, no, that's not me.

Singing, acting, no, that's not me at all.

Um, So, as it was for me, um, it's just about trying to make time to fit it in.

Yeah.

Because I was at the stage there where I haven't done anything in a little while.

We had kids.

So, my mom and I, what, my eldest is 10, so that's a decade.

And for the first little while I managed to do a little bit, but honestly it was so exhausting that I just didn't do anything.

And then I've been doing kiddies workshops and doing stuff with the kids all the time, but I haven't really been doing anything by myself, my own creative practice.

So, the past, I would say, three or four months maybe, I've kind of taken a wee step back from things and started to draw again and just make marks and just practice lifting some sort of art materials, whatever sort of comes to me intuitively, and just make some marks and see what happens.

Um, I'm just having fun with it, because, It's kind of like a muscle.

If you don't use it, you lose it, you know, you need to, you need to practice and get back into it.

And so I'm trying every day or every other day to try and do something that is what I'm creative with, which is drawing, making marks and painting stuff like that.

Um, but also the thing that I have discovered that is probably the most important thing is rest.

Hmm.

Because, like you said, in one of the previous episodes, about your washing dishes and then this creative thing comes to you, if I go for, if I manage to get out for a walk by myself, and just, you know, I'm not thinking about anything else, and then you're actually creative because you're focused on nothing else apart from just walking, making sure you don't trip over something, you know, it's kind of, so, and pardon me, because I have a neurodivergent brain, my, um, like meditating does not work for me at all, I cannot meditate, I'm too busy, so I use art as my, um, meditative practice as well.

Absolutely.

Yeah, so that is um, it helps me get in flow, it helps me get in the zone, it helps me think of nothing else but actually doing marks on the paper and making art and wondering about it and just playing with it.

The materials and seeing what happens and just having a bit of fun and then the kids see me doing it and then they want to come and join in too so they've got all my expensive watercolors and they're having fun with my watercolor paper and I'm just like it's fine.

So, but it's good because then they get to experience.

Those things.

They do.

As well.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So what about yourself?

What do you do?

You just act creative.

So my creativity, it would be interesting to see, so the last episode we chatted about the different types of imagination and it would be interesting to see where the, like where our.

Creative flow where they sit underneath those different umbrellas of like the different categories of imagination because my style like of play and creativity and keeping my creativity alive and going is very different than yours because like I said, I'm not in.

I'm not an artist like a painting artist or a drawing artist.

I'm an artist.

But okay, so I think that there's some buckets here.

So how do I let creativity come to me, I guess is where I'll start.

So I can meditate.

And so, um, that works for me sometimes.

My best creative ideas come from two different places.

One is laying in the sun on the lake in the warmth.

Um, I generally have music on and that's really it.

And sometimes I'm reading and sometimes I'm not, but I feel like most of my creative ideas come during that time.

The other way that a lot of creativity, like a lot of creative ideas hit is when I pick up books that Um, are not necessarily in my field of like, that I, that I teach others about, so like, I kind of have like two, two avenues, like two things, buckets that I teach people.

The first is, um, marketing and digital entrepreneurship, and the second is play based learning, right?

So I do a lot of learning and researching in both of those areas.

Um, but I find a lot of ideas.

when I'm reading something different.

So I might pick up a book, like I have the giant Barbie book that just came out a few months ago.

It's like this hardcover pink book and it's just filled with lots of different, um, outfits.

Like I find inspiration and creativity and things like that.

Or I have another book that is about the, It's like 50, they interviewed 50 women entrepreneurs, um, in many different fields.

And it's just like a Q& A and I read that and am inspired and look at the photos and I might all of a sudden have a really creative idea hit me that I can blend with my industry.

Um, so I love looking to what other industries are doing.

And then bringing some of those things back to the industries that I serve, um, like a mashup kind of, I mean, that's what that is creativity and, you know, a couple different ideas fused together.

So, um, I find mine in that.

I also find.

Digital design is so fun for me.

That is play for me and I can like, lose myself in Canva.

And I know Canva is not like, the tool that like, an actual digital tool is.

Artist would use but I don't know how to use adobe illustrator so I Canvas easy and I love it and I play around in there all of the time.

So That's that's play for me as well um So yeah, my, and then I, of course, like, ideas hit me all the time when I'm listening to podcasts in, like, that maybe are in other industries, or when I'm doing the dishes, or like you, when I'm on a walk, um, when I'm lifting weights, sometimes, like, ideas will hit.

So I think, um, yeah, just everybody's way that they are inspired is different.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

I'm just looking back at the, the types of imagination that we talked about the last time in episode two, and I'm just trying to figure out, um, Like, which, are you putting old ideas together to make something new, do you think?

Yeah.

Um, I'm trying to see, I think I am using empathy or emotional imagination, or I'm sort of thinking about, yeah, emotional imagination, where I'm kind of looking at feelings and energy and stuff.

Um, there's a little bit, maybe your memory imagination, where you're taking old ideas and things and mixing them up together to create something new.

Yeah, so we can look back at that.

Um, some of the things there that you said were actually, um, I have this quote from the book that you get, you actually recommended, um, stay like an artist.

So creative people need time to sit around and do nothing.

Yeah.

Simply not because that's, you know, a lot of both of our things actually come from Um, resting and being able to just get off the hamster wheel and just stop for a minute and empty the 2, 000 thoughts that are running about your head every millisecond.

And um, yeah, so that kind of leads me on to the thing that I kind of wanted to talk to you about, which is there's seven types, I learned this very recently too, seven types of rest to help humans be creative.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

So this is fun.

Oh, so this is new.

So there's physical rest, which we all know about.

Yeah.

So sleep, gentle movement, just chilling out, relaxing.

There is also social rest, which is fulfilling social interactions.

So being with people that you enjoy spending time with and sort of filling up your cup that way.

Um, for the.

You're a divergent person.

There, there is also the recovery time from that as well where you can let go.

There is one called creative rest, which is play, um, and appreciating the beauty around you.

So noticing those little glimmers and things that, that's like the sun just hitting the water in a certain way and just thinking, Oh, that reminds me of glittery something, or, you know, it sparks an idea and a memory.

And then all of a sudden you're thinking about something else.

Um, the next one then is sensory rest.

So it could be silence.

It can be just disengaging from people, noise, um, bright lights.

All those things, so just being in nature is a good thing, or just trying to have a break from tech and just sit in the sunlight and make your circadian rhythm go in.

Um, there's spiritual rest, which can be, Interpreted in lots of different ways.

So it can be community.

It can be meditation.

It can be, um, prayer.

It can be, um, you just connecting with other people.

And then there's emotional rest, which is, um, expression of your feelings.

Um, so basically emotional rest helps you process and express your feelings in a healthy way.

Um, and allows you to sort of tap into those things as a source of inspiration to enrich kind of what you're doing.

It's like an authentic way of resting.

And the last one then is, um, mental rest.

So things like mindfulness, things like, like mini breaks and micro breaks, um, just little things that give you a chance to, especially bring it off for a little while.

And when I learned about that, I was just like, Oh, do you just think rest is just going to put your feet up or something?

Yeah.

But actually, there's so much more, you know, to it and when you think of an adult or you think of a child and you think actually, if you're in a, say if you're in a school situation or work situation and you're surrounded by artificial lights or you're surrounded by lots of noise, sometimes you just need to come home and decompress and just not think about anything else or just sit on, sit on your front doorstep and just take in the trees or something.

Right.

Um, so I find that quite interesting.

That is interesting.

Interesting.

And I know that, um, well, I know in the, in the United States, and maybe it's different in Ireland, but like, people do not let themselves rest.

They rest in the, in the old definition that we probably had before we learned about those, like, seven types of rest.

Seven, right?

It was seven?

Yeah.

So, like, we feel guilty if we aren't being productive.

That is, like, this huge, like, culture that we have, this huckle culture that we have in the United States.

Do you feel that's the same in Ireland?

Yeah, definitely.

And the whole of the UK, I think, the whole of, um, you know, think, The whole of Ireland, I think.

I think, knowing now that, like, there's all of those other types of rest, like, maybe we can, like, let ourselves off the hook a little bit.

Because we know, A, that rest is going to lead to, like, super creativity.

And That that will then could advance if that's, you know, like if you're doing some sort of a, if you have a career and you're working towards something that's going to help you in that career or help you in your parenting or help you in life in general.

So like maybe knowing that rest is more than just.

Laying down and putting your feet up and reading a book, um, maybe people can like relax a little bit more into like, okay, rest is, is so many different things and it's different for everybody.

What is going to fill up that rest cup or take away from it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think, um, knowing that.

It's not just, you're not just thinking to yourself, Oh, I just can't wait to get home and put my feet up.

You're thinking to yourself, okay, how can I take a minute here and have a rest and actually, you know, like, I think, you know, there's loads of research into how relaxed smokers are, but it's only because they're going out and they're doing their breathing exercises.

Ha ha ha ha!

Interesting, yeah!

It's not necessarily, you know, the actual cigarettes, it's the fact that they've taken a break and they're actually Taking a deep breath in and blowing it out nice and slow.

And that is, that is Breathing.

It's not, yeah, it's not a very healthy way to breathe, but, but yeah.

I've never thought about it that way.

Yeah, so.

Oh, okay.

So there's so many different ways, like even little things like just taking a break and going outside for a minute or, you know, just taking a breath is, will just calm your nervous system down.

Like earlier on today, whenever I was feeling a wee bit anxious and stuff, I, I remembered.

So, you know, take four in, hold for one, out for eight, hold for one, and then keep going.

In a few breaths, just kind of try and Calm down my nervous system and it, it, it, it always, it always helps cause you're, you're coming back to yourself.

And I think that's when you're more creative because you're more receptive to the ideas and looking about around you and connecting with people and bouncing off them and seeing what sort of ideas they have.

And you know, there's a lot of power in that being able to take a step back, I think, and be creative.

I have noticed in myself actually the past three months that it's.

It's giving me a little bit more grace with, with things.

And, um, so yeah, that's one thing I wanted to talk about sort of set up some, um, curiosity around that to see, you know, what everyone thinks of, of that and how you can integrate that into your own life.

And as well as the kids that you're with, yeah, you know, behavior is communication and yep.

You're communicating as well as the children are communicating.

They could be totally sensory overloaded with like gaming and lights and Music and noise and cars and all sorts of things and yeah Need a minute, Yeah.

So, so yeah, that's, I just thought that was quite interesting.

Oh my gosh.

Thought that is, Hmm.

Um, I think, I don't know.

I'm still processing it all.

Like, it's just like you kind of opened up my mind to just like a whole nother set of things to think about.

Um, I don't know.

I think I'm, I'm thinking more, I'm thinking into my brain is on that.

My hope for people in their adult lives is that they live life in play and find a career, a job, like if you need it, if you have to have a job, um, that you find something that you enjoy doing and that you can play.

That's play for you because I think that that is such a huge part of why I'm, my own definition of successful is because I play and I 100 percent love the work that I do.

There's obviously always going to be parts of every job that you don't love to do, um, that aren't play, but for the most part, it's.

Like I would say 70 percent of my life is spent in play and that's amazing.

Like that's a good spot to be and I hope that for all other adults that they can really tap into part of life and Enjoy it.

Like, we only get one.

So, like, unless, I mean, like, You know, you might have past lives, and you might have future pa future lives that will be past lives.

Um, but, you gotta, yeah, you gotta enjoy life.

You can't just keep doing something because it's safe.

I think, That risk taking is a huge part of creativity and imagination and learning and growing, and you've got to take risks in order to really live a life that you love.

I don't know.

I think, um, there's one kind of, here's me going back to quotes again, but there's one quote that I just love that is, um, I, and you can bring it back to any aspect of creativity, whether it's, um, you know, creative thinking or whether it's music or dance or art or social interaction.

Um, so this quote is, Art is the only way to run away from home without leaving home.

Oh, I love that.

It is just, whenever I heard it the first time I was like, oh yeah.

You can, you can create a different reality for yourself.

Yeah.

You know, your thoughts are everything, really.

Yeah.

Your perception of the world, I think, is just, is, is everything, and I think that being creative about the way that you think about things and wondering about it and questioning and being curious is just what we're all here to do, to try and figure it out and have fun.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

It's a huge part of life, but I don't think people look at it that way.

It's like an afterthought most of the time.

Or not even a thought at all.

Yeah.

I think that's because though, it's an advertisement in education.

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

You know, we need to go back to the basics and, and figure out that actually we're supposed to be creative beings and, and we're supposed to have fun.

And kids are going to show us the way, so.

They are.

Yeah, oh my goodness.

This was good.

I love doing this three part series with you.

Thank you so much for the idea and for asking and I really enjoyed it because creativity is like, yeah, it's like, now I want to know more.

Now I'm going to like do a deep dive on creativity.

So okay, Beverly, where can people connect with you?

You're welcome.

Um, you can find me at insta at happylittlehumansplay on Instagram, or you can drop me an email at hello at happylittlehumans.

com, and, um, yeah, find me wherever, happylittlehumans.

com.

It's your website, happylittlehumans.

com.

It's my website, yeah.

Um.

Go check out some of her free, she's got some free resources that you can take advantage of.

So go check that out on her website.

I'm going to do me, um, a new freebie coming out, actually, the curiosity challenge.

So I'm going to do easy ways to kind of get creative and play and do things that you already have at hand.

I love it.

Over five days.

And Fun!

Okay, well, look her up on her website or on Instagram so you can find out how to join that challenge.

Thank you again for being here and for the work that you do for young children.

I appreciate you and your creativity.

I appreciate you.

Bye bye.

Bye!

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Until next time.