According to this article from Prevention Magazine, the best time of the day for creativity is 9:00-11:00 in the morning, while 11:00-2:00 is a great time to solve difficult problems. With that in mind, seems like it makes sense to start the day with a quick, creative activity – perhaps a journal prompt or a waker-upper and then move into language arts with math just before or after lunch. Fortunately, this seems to be the way most teachers structure their day.
An article in this month’s Psychology Today (Everyday Creativity) also supports doing something creative in the morning because after waking from sleep, people often have new ideas about how to do something. In addition, the joy and satisfaction that a person gets from doing something creative in the morning can sustain him or her through more rote activities later in the day.