Creative Play is one of the sixteen ‘play types’ defined by British Playworker Bob Hughes in his 2002 Taxonomy of Play Types.
The word 'creativity' has a mixed history in terms of play theory and in categorizing play because it can be a difficult term to pin down, meaning different things to different people.
Hughes defines it in his 2006 book ‘Playtypes: speculations and possibilities as, “the drive to generate flexible combinations and permutations of shapes, textures, colours, sounds, tastes and/or smells. It is the expression of the outward flow of the senses after they have passed through the prism of feelings.” (p.38)
Hughes also emphasizes the importance of children having control over the opportunities involved in Creative Play in order to get the most from this particular Playtype. This may involve removing the adult from the equation completely and, “… even means that children should not be told to interact with the creative materials in the first place.” (p,38). Although Hughes stresses the link between Loose Parts and Creative Play, he also raises the potential for conflict between this element of the definition and the way some advocates of Loose Parts interpretate how materials should be displayed and presented for use.
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See also Bob Hughes, The Play Types, Loose Parts
