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Kentucky Early Childhood Standards

Every Child Can Have a Strong Start in the Commonwealth when Families, Communities and Schools work Together

Creative Expression

Creative Expression ​Standard 1:

Demonstrates interest and participates in various forms of creative expression.

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Attends to bright and/or contrasting colors.

  • Zaylen looks intently at the red and white toy that is held in front of her.
  • John watches his black and white mobile.
  • Benjy stares at the large yellow sun hung from the ceiling.

Gazes at pictures, photographs, and mirror images.

  • Using a magnifier, Celia looks at the animals in her picture book.
  • Casey touches the image of himself in the mirror.
  • Jack looks at his family’s picture on the classroom wall.

Shows preference for particular colors.

  • Katie always picks the blue fingerpaint when given a choice of colors.
  • Andre chooses and colors with the purple crayon on a regular basis.
  • In the dramatic play center, Jordan wears the red dress-up shoes every day. 

Uses a variety of materials in exploring and creating visual art.

  • Kara finger-paints with water on colored paper.
  • Manny uses his finger to make a hole in a lump of scented dough placed in his classroom by his early interventionist.
  • Cindi places pieces of colored paper on a paper plate the caregiver has covered with glue to make a collage.

Observes and answers simple questions about visual art.

  • Carlos looks at a painting and points to trees and flowers when asked to by his caregiver.
  • Milly scribbles in big circles on her paper and replies, “Balls” when her teacher asks her about her picture.
  • Tyler feels the sandpaper he glued on his picture and says, “It rough.”

Responds to touch and motion.

  • Angela stops crying when her early interventionist holds her upright against her shoulder and gently sways with her.
  • Ben coos as his caregiver bounces him gently on his lap.
  • Tatianna is upset, but she calms down as her teacher takes her hands and they play patty cake together.

Explores the movement of self and/or objects.

  • Melinda brings her hands together in front of her and stares intently as she opens and closes her fingers.
  • Carlos uses his feet to bat at the mobile hanging over his crib.
  • Jace reaches for a ball and smiles as his physical therapist gently bounces it.

Demonstrates interest and participates in activities that involve rhythmic patterns.

  • Rosa observes the children as they clap their hands to music.
  • Sam bounces up and down in time to the song being played on the CD player.
  • Javier feels vibrations as he holds the drum his teacher is playing and moves his body with the beat.
  • Holly claps her hands on her lap to the rhythm of the music during music time.

Moves and dances to music.

  • John dances in his caregiver’s arms when the music starts playing.
  • Brayden continues to “dance” even after his teacher turns off the music. 
  • Alicia rocks side to side in his wheelchair as his teacher sings the song, Wheels on the Bus.

Exhibits a variety of movements to express self.

  • Takisha stomps her feet when the music plays loudly and tiptoes when it plays soft.
  • Tommy picks up a scarf and shakes it in the air as the children move to the music. 
  • Cami imitates the teacher pretending to be a leaf blowing in the wind as Falling Leaves plays on the CD player.


Responds to sounds, tones, and voices.

  • Sydney quiets as her caregiver speaks to her in a calm, soothing voice.
  • Jarrard moves his arms and legs vigorously when he hears his grandpa’s voice as he arrives for afternoon pickup.
  • Ricki turns his head toward the classroom door when someone knocks on it.

Responds to music.

  • Max stomps his feet when he hears music from the CD player. 
  • Sophie “sings” when she hears the song, Itsy Bitsy Spider.
  • Jackson and Sam stop playing with the blocks when they hear their teacher start to sing, “It’s clean-up time.”

Participates in activities that involve rhythm and song.

  • Eddie and Jacob bang loudly on the drums when their teacher plays Miss Mary Mack, from the Ella Jenkins CD.
  • Mary makes up a dance to the music while holding her friend’s hand.
  • Alvaro and Luisa join in clapping to “Cinco elefantitos” during circle time.

Exhibits familiarity with repetitive songs and rhythmic patterns.

  • Alexis sings some of the words to “Over in the Meadow” with the other children.
  • Gracie and Luke jump up and down and ask to play I’m a Little Teapot again.
  • Katie asks the physical therapist to play the Wiggles CD every time he visits her classroom.

Expresses emotions in response to music.

  • Gracie smiles as she uses her voice to make musical sounds.
  • LaShonda laughs as she dances to the music played during circle time.
  • Kylie, Mykala and Elian shake maracas and bells excitedly as Saveem joins in on the xylophone. ​


Imitates sounds, facial expressions, and gestures of another person.

  • After her speech therapist says “dada” to her, Carly repeats “dadadada”.
  • Paige sticks out her tongue after seeing a classmate stick out his tongue. 

Imitates the actions modeled by other persons.

  • Guadalupe gives her stuffed bear a hug after her teacher hugs it and hands it to her.  
  • Susie holds a book and “reads” after watching her caregiver read to a small group of children in the literacy center.
  • Arnie picks up a dishcloth in the dramatic play center and wipes the table after watching his teacher clean classroom tables before lunch.

Imitates sounds or actions of an animal or object.

  • Caroline says, “Rrr, Rrr” while pushing the cement truck.
  • Alicia gets down on her hands and knees to creep like a cat after watching her teacher read a picture book about cats.

With guidance, uses voice and body as a means of artistic expression.

  • After seeing his teacher act out the “big bad wolf”, Craig uses a gruff voice as he repeats the words “I’ll huff and I’ll puff” from the Three Little Pigs story.
  • After his caregiver shows how, TaShaun forms his body into a ball when he is the “seed” and stands up taller as the teacher asks him to make the “plant” grow.

Uses one object to represent another.

  • Billy squeezes a toy bottle over the hotdog and says, “Mustard.”
  • Tyra places three round blocks in a pan and says, “I’m cooking eggs.”
  • Anna picks up a stick and waves it around as a magic wand when she is playing magician. 

Engages in pretend play.

  • Clarissa picks up a bag in the dramatic play area, which has been set up like a store, and asks to buy some of the fruit that the teacher is “selling”. 
  • Jason holds a teddy bear and pretends to read a book to the bear.
  • Aidan signs “quiet” as he rocks the cradle with his dolls
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