[Jasmine]

I think one way we can boost creative thinking at our daycare is by setting aside short team huddles each week to share ideas. These don’t have to be long meetings just a few minutes where everyone can bring one fun activity or classroom idea to the table. We could also use a shared notebook or board where staff can write down creative ideas as they come up, so no one forgets them.

[pam]

Staff meetings are great ways to get everyone together. We can discuss how everyone is doing and what needs to be worked on. We have a few personality clashes at our center. Working through those by talking it out is helpful.

[Rupali]

When creating teams, intentionally mix staff from different age groups so it will bring very different creative insights that can lead to innovative new activities.

[Riley Longwill]

allowing everyone to share their ideas is by helping them feel safe and encouraging them to share their ideas. You never know what will help unless you try.

[Ash]

We have staff meetings twice a year but we are always able to share ideas with each other and the director and we can make extra staff meetings to discuss things that many staff would like to talk about

[Makiko]

At our center, we have a monthly staff meeting. The director initiate the discussion with the current problem our center is facing. We casually discuss the issue while having pizza and everyone’s opinions are respected.

[Sarah Guenther]

At our center, we have monthly birthday potlucks/staff meetings where we share food and ideas about what is working and what isn’t in our classrooms. We write ideas on post it notes and our director reads them aloud so we can collaborate.

[Toya]

Usually for my center we have monthly staff meetings.

[Gwyndolyn]

Do a daily three minute warmup where everyone writes three ideas to a prompt and shares one; run quick yes and rounds to build on a colleague’s thought; turn a hallway into a rotating gallery walk with chart paper for problems and sticky solutions; keep an idea jar and pull two to pilot each week; pair classrooms for spark swaps and debrief what worked; host a monthly remix hour using a single material to invent ten uses; set playful constraints like only blue items to trigger originality; record 60 second show and tells and drop clips in a shared folder; keep a living resource board with photos and steps; close each huddle with kudos and a ticket to try one peer idea this week.

[keri]

we have quarterly town hall meetings with staff to offer new ideas or talk through old ones.

[Ruth]

Twice a month staff meetings and every Friday the staff choose their own activities.

[Jenee Sellers]

Getting teachers involved in their own creative thinking and strategies and sharing with each other. It builds team partnership and gives them the boost to keep on the drive to be great educators.

[Hanan]

I think a potluck is a good idea. We eat together and learn ways to collaboratively support the children.

[Sally]

We like to gather at a dinner and talk about different ways to improve the program.

[Tara]

I really like the idea of doing an “idea wall” whether it be physical in the office space or on some sort of digital platform. I am in charge of supervising over 30 staff and many “teams” and often I see one group doing something that would be great for another team.