Throughout the Neighborhood series, Mister Rogers encourages creativity in many different ways -- by introducing his viewers to people who are creative, by creating stories with the puppets in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and by asking his viewers questions that encourage creative thinking.

Visitors Who are Creative

In the Neighborhood series, children meet lots of adults who use creativity in their lives, and they can come to know there are many different ways people can find meaning in life and make things happen. Often, too, these guests talk about how their creative medium helps them express their feelings in healthy ways.

The Make-Believe Stories

Through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, children see a story played out that's creative and imaginative. In Make-Believe, creative ideas also help solve complicated and sensitive problems. The stories in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe portray common concerns of young children and a range of feelings that children experience -- anger, fear, envy, joy, and pride. By being resourceful and inventive, the puppets and people work together to solve their problems, modeling prosocial behavior, sharing their feelings with one another, and illustrating how people can work together and support each other.

Also as in children's experiences, the Neighborhood of Make-Believe problems are not solved quickly. A theme is carried out across a whole week, giving many opportunities for creative problem-solving ideas from the different characters.

The Puppets

The Neighborhood puppets are simple hand puppets, rather primitive and without movable eyes or mouths. One advantage of their physical simplicity is that they leave much to the imagination, allowing the viewing children to bring more of their own ideas to what they're seeing. Also, children might be encouraged to have their own creative play with simple puppets, making one from a sock or paper bag or even just their hand.

What makes the puppets compelling for children is that the characters they portray are childlike and believable. Children know what it's like to feel pompous like King Friday, shy like Daniel Tiger, and feisty like Lady Elaine. Although the puppets have those kinds of identifiable characteristics, at the same time, they have the capacity for growing. With caring support, Daniel is brave. With kind affirmation, King Friday doesn't need to show his "importance" with his commands. And hearing that she's appreciated, Lady Elaine doesn't need to get attention in negative ways.

Real and Pretend

Another unique aspect of the series is that Mister Rogers makes a clear distinction between what is pretend and what is real. The program always begins in the reality-oriented area of Mister Rogers' television house. When it's time for Make-Believe, Mister Rogers is in charge of the pretending (as children are in charge of their play). That's why he never appears in Make-Believe. But he is always there afterwards, as a mediator, to help children reflect on the story and its messages. So he encourages creativity while at the same time helping children distinguish their fantasy from reality.

Asking Questions

Mister Rogers often encourages creative thinking by asking questions like, "What do you think could happen next?" or "What kind of poem would you make up?" He usually adds, "Children have such good ideas!" Of course, he can't hear the children's comments and respond to them. But you can. When you help the children reflect on the Make-Believe story...and when you encourage their own pretend play about whatever they need to play about, you're helping children find coping tools for their everyday lives. That emotional strength will go a long way towards helping them feel more secure about themselves...and be more ready to learn.

Inviting Guests into your Child Care Setting

You can introduce children to people in your own neighborhood whose work or hobbies are creative. You may want to invite parents, relatives or community friends for a brief visit to do something they enjoy, like poetry-reading, storytelling, flower-arranging, cooking, wood-working, painting or cake-decorating. Remember that children's attention spans are short, and it helps to give them some related activity afterwards.

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