Educator Summer Session: "Cultivating Creative Thinking in Early Childhood Classrooms"

Cultivating Creative Thinking in Early Childhood Classrooms

“Helping people to connect with their personal creative capacities is the surest way to release the best they have to offer.”  – Sir Ken Robinson

This three-day session explores creative thinking as an essential competency that should be intentionally valued and cultivated in early childhood classrooms—for both children and educators. Participants will examine what creative thinking is and how it connects to wonder, imagination, curiosity, risk-taking, autonomy, and other key dispositions for learning. Through activities, presentations, classroom observations, and discussions, participants will consider why creative thinking and its related capacities are critical to develop in the early years, how classroom environments and educator–child interactions can nurture creative thinking, and how it can inform responsive pedagogy. Educators from Bing will share classroom experiences that highlight play as a powerful context in which children express and strengthen their creative thinking in action. 

Session Days and Times

• Wednesday, July 22: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Thursday, July 23: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
• Friday, July 24: 8:30 am- 3:00 pm

Registration Information

• Registration opens April 1, 2026 at 9am PT on Eventbrite:  Register Here
• Registration fee: $750/participant.
• Payment due by credit card at registration.
• Limited to 30 participants; Limit of 3 participants from one organization.
• Refund policy: Withdrawal by May 15, 2026 for a full refund. Refunds will not be granted after May 15.
• Designed for participants working in the field of Education.

Certificate of course completion provided to all participants noting 20 hours of professional development. Separately, in conjunction with Stanford Continuing Studies, participants can opt to receive an optional 2 units of course credit upon course completion for an additional $75 (paid separately). For reference, 1 unit = 10 professional development hours.

For more information, please see the attached FAQ page:

Summer Session FAQs 2026

Participation Disclaimer: Registration as a Summer Session for Educators participant and attendance at or participation in events on campus or other Bing Nursery School or Stanford University activities constitutes an agreement by the participant to the University’s use, licensing, and distribution (both now and in the future) of the participant’s image or voice in photographs, videotapes, electronic reproductions, or audiotapes of such events and activities. Such images or voice recordings may appear in a variety of media, including, but not limited to websites, social media accounts, and other promotional materials.

Contact Email bingschool [at] stanford.edu (bingschool[at]stanford[dot]edu)  |  Contact Phone Number (650) 723-4865