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Where Creativity and Reading Meet: Inside Crayola Creativity Week

During the last week of January, classrooms, libraries, and families around the world will come together to celebrate Crayola Creativity Week, a global event that puts imagination, literacy, and learning front and center. In this blog, you’ll learn what Crayola Creativity Week is, why creativity matters for student engagement and confidence, and how educators and families can take part through daily themes, celebrity-led read-alouds, and hands-on activities. Reading Is Fundamental is proud to partner with Crayola to support this colorful celebration and advance RIF’s mission to spark a love of reading for every child. Crayola’s engaging read-aloud videos and creative resources are powerful tools to bring stories to life, inspire curiosity, and help children experience the joy of reading, at school, at home, and beyond. 

What is Crayola Creativity Week? 

Crayola Creativity Week is a free, weeklong global celebration for schools, libraries, and homes. It is designed to integrate creativity into learning across content like literacy, STEAM, and social-emotional learning. The program launched in 2022, with participation around 2 million students and significantly increased in 2025 with over 13 million students participating across 120+ countries and 99,000 learning sites.  

Each day features a video with a celebrity-led read-aloud, hands-on activity, interactive creative challenges, downloadable thinking sheets, and daily prizes. Participants can expect to spend roughly 30 mins a day immersed in the content as it is tailored for minimal prep and maximum impact. The videos and resources are available in eight languages.  

Daily Lineup & Themes 

Crayola has pulled together a dynamic lineup of global creators—ranging from celebrities and athletes to astronauts and illustrators—to bring each day’s theme to life. Highlights include:  

  • Monday, Jan 26 – “Facing the Music” with Kate Micucci and illustrator Mark Hofmann. 
  • Tuesday, Jan 27 – “Building Together” with Drew and Jonathan Scott (Property Brothers) and illustrator Kim Smith. 
  • Wednesday, Jan 28 – “Embracing Your Ideas” with Questlove and illustrator Sean Qualls. 
  • Thursday, Jan 29 – “Reaching Team Goals” featuring Harry Kane, Matt Turner, and artist Marina Ruiz. 
  • Friday, Jan 30 – “Exploring the Moon” alongside NASA astronauts and Snoopy artist Mary ValenciaShyne—complete with a special livestream assembly at 1:00 p.m. ET.  
  • Saturday, Jan 31 – “Empowering Communities” with actor Michael Rainey Jr. and illustrator Rob Flowers. 
  • Sunday, Feb 1 – “Storytelling Adventures” featuring Bluey creatives Jasmine “Jazz” Moody, Nick Rees, and conservationist Bindi Irwin.  

Why Does Creativity Matter? 

Creative teaching and learning is an evergreen approach that empowers every student to reach their full potential. Crayola’s recent research on creativity highlights that 92% of children aged 6–12 report that creative experiences boost their confidence. Educators report after participating in Crayola Creativity Week:  

  • 80% saw an increase in student’s enthusiasm for learning and curiosity. 
  • School and classroom radiate a more joyous, collaborative atmosphere  
  • Students became increasingly confident in making creative connections to other content and subject areas  

These findings underscore creativity’s role in being a catalyst for engaged learning and deep collaboration—making it an essential component of the school day. 

Resources  

Crayola Creativity Week offers several sweepstakes and resources available to support implementation of the program. These resources can be found on the website and include: 

  • Teacher’s Guide- the guide helps plan for the daily themes. It’s complete with learning objectives and instructional tips framed in the 4 step creative process standards: Create, Present, Respond and Connect.  
  • Schoolwide Celebration Guide – build school spirit around creativity with tips grounded in the 4 C’s of Creativity Week: Culture, Collaboration, Cross-curricular and Communication 
  • Family Engagement Guide – families are partners in creativity. This guide offers insights on investing in creativity, financial literacy, and tips to plan a family event.  
  • Partner Resources – Access resources from collaborators, including Reading Is Fundamental, to keep creativity going all year long! 
  • Sweepstakes – thanks to our generous supporters, educators can enter to win a prizes including a custom Junior Martin guitar, all-expense paid VIP trip to Florida space coast, funds and colorful supplies to host a creative financial literacy event for families, teacher’s lounge makeover, and a 4 day creativity retreat. 

Ready to Participate? 

Signing up for Crayola Creativity Week is simple. Visit www.crayola.com/creativityweek  and complete the free registration.  

 

About the Author: 

James Wells is the Manager of Education Content at Crayola. He brings his creative energy and leadership on the screen and every speaking presentation, engaging participants to think differently. James has been dedicated to supporting arts in schools, working closely with teachers and administrators in the US and around the globe.