Beyond the Classroom: Exploring Creativity Through Clay at Greythorn ELC

What happens when educators become learners again?

In early childhood education, creativity is an important part of how children explore, experiment and make sense of the world. But opportunities for educators to engage in their own creative learning are just as valuable.

On 7 October 2026, Dya Australia brought its Play with Clay Professional Development workshop to Greythorn Early Learning Centre in Balwyn North, Melbourne.

Designed for a group of 25 educators, the two-hour session provided an opportunity to step into a hands-on creative experience and explore the possibilities of working with clay.

Bringing Creative Professional Development to Greythorn ELC

Professional development often focuses on teaching strategies, curriculum requirements and educational outcomes.

While these areas are essential, learning through direct experience offers another perspective.

For educators who regularly guide children through discovery and experimentation, becoming a participant in a creative activity can offer an opportunity to reflect on the learning process from a different position.

Greythorn ELC selected Dya Australia’s Play with Clay Professional Development workshop for its staff.

Delivered onsite at Greythorn Community Hub, the session was structured as a two-hour creative experience, bringing professional learning into the educators’ own environment.

Why Clay? Learning Through Hands-On Exploration

Clay is a material that invites curiosity.

Unlike activities with a fixed sequence of steps, working with clay offers opportunities to explore texture, form and movement through direct interaction.

A simple piece of clay can be pressed, rolled, shaped, flattened or transformed into something unexpected.

These possibilities make it a useful material for exploring creative thinking.

For educators, working with clay can also provide a different perspective on the challenges and discoveries that emerge during hands-on learning.

What happens when an idea does not work as expected?

How do we respond when a material behaves differently from what we imagined?

And what might we discover when we allow ourselves to experiment before deciding on an outcome?

These questions connect creative practice with broader ideas about learning, curiosity and flexibility.

Experiencing the Learning Process First-Hand

Educators spend much of their time creating opportunities for others to learn.

Participating in a creative workshop offers a chance to experience that process themselves.

When working with unfamiliar materials, even experienced educators may encounter uncertainty.

There may be moments of hesitation, unexpected discoveries or a need to try a different approach.

These experiences can provide useful opportunities for reflection.

Rather than focusing only on a finished artwork, hands-on creative professional development encourages attention to the process of making.

The choices, adjustments and experiments involved can become just as interesting as the final result.

Making Space for Creativity in Professional Learning

Professional development does not always need to take the form of a presentation or discussion.

Experiential learning introduces another way to engage with ideas.

A creative workshop can encourage participants to observe, experiment and consider different approaches through practical activity.

For early childhood educators, these experiences are particularly relevant because creative exploration is already part of the environments they help shape.

Working with art materials can offer opportunities to consider how open-ended activities support curiosity and individual expression.

It can also encourage reflection on the role of guidance, experimentation and personal choice within a learning experience.

A Creative Experience Beyond the Studio

The Greythorn ELC workshop was delivered at the centre’s own community hub in Balwyn North.

Bringing creative professional development directly to an education setting provides a practical alternative to travelling to an external workshop venue.

It also allows educators to participate in a shared experience within a familiar professional environment.

For Greythorn ELC, the scheduled two-hour Play with Clay session brought Dya’s hands-on creative approach into the staff’s professional development program.

The workshop illustrates how art-based learning can form part of professional development opportunities for early childhood education teams.

What Can Educators Take From Creative Experiences?

Creative professional development can offer more than an introduction to a particular material.

It creates opportunities to reflect on the way people learn.

Through activities such as clay exploration, educators can consider the value of:

• Experimenting without knowing exactly how something will turn out.
• Approaching challenges with curiosity rather than looking immediately for the correct answer.
• Recognising that people may respond differently to the same materials and instructions.
• Making room for discovery, adjustment and individual expression.

These ideas are relevant not only to art activities but also to the broader practice of supporting learning.

When educators have opportunities to explore creativity themselves, they can consider familiar teaching experiences from a different perspective.

Supporting Creative Thinking in Early Childhood Education

The Greythorn ELC Play with Clay workshop highlights the possibilities of incorporating hands-on creative experiences into professional development.

By moving beyond traditional presentation-based learning, educators can engage directly with materials, explore ideas and reflect on the creative process.

For early learning centres, schools and education organisations, experiences like this offer another approach to staff development.

At Dya Australia, we believe creative thinking grows through opportunities to question, experiment and discover new perspectives.

Come and surprise yourself. Embrace a new perspective.

Looking for a creative professional development experience for your educators? Contact us to explore hands-on workshops designed for education teams.