The established place of the arts within early childhood education is rarely questioned. Nevertheless, social, cultural and political shifts in values, beliefs and practices impact on approaches to the arts, as early childhood practitioners grapple with increasingly complex views on how children learn and what factors impact on their learning.…

This paper reflects on a collaborative project between Manchester City Art Gallery and Manchester Metropolitan University (2003-2004). The project's aim was to attract very young children and their families to the gallery. This paper will not report directly on the research methods used or the outcomes of the project but, rather, will explore…

This article examines how children's construction of relationships in exploring materials helps to explain the constructivist foundations of the Reggio Emilia approach. A quasi-naturalistic study of 12 preschool children, ages 3 and 4 years, individually exploring different kinds of collage papers reveals a range of constructivist categories…

Although sociocultural theory challenges educators to embrace the social nature of learning, common practice in early childhood art has varied little from its traditional stance on natural art development, adult non-intervention, and the sacrosanct nature of creativity and artistic expression--outdated relics on hallowed ground. Despite mounting…

This study examines the interrelationships among art, play and "real" life, as perceived by young children. Twenty-one children aged four and five in their first year of formal schooling in Ireland, were observed during art-related play activities and classes over a period of four months in 2004. Research data consisted of art works…

Kinder-artists at Oakhurst Elementary love rodeo time, which is an annual event in Fort Worth, Texas. The spirit of the Old West pervades as children don jeans, hats, boots, and bandannas to be a cowboy or cowgirl for the day. Furthermore, Fort Worth is a city that celebrates not only its history as "Cowtown" but also the fine arts! An…

Students love the colors of Monet prints. The sunny yellows, misty blues, soft lavenders, and outrageous oranges. Using this as inspiration, Michelle Maroni wanted her students to discover new painting techniques and ways of planning a composition with more spontaneity. In this article, she describes how she introduced Claude Monet to her students…

In this study, two samples of 4-year-old Chinese children were given two drawing tasks, one very familiar task and one novel and challenging task. The first sample was drawn from a nursery that taught art in a similar way to that widely used in the West, with an emphasis on individual expression. The second sample was from a nursery where drawing…

This article asks what happens to the learning of young children when they work regularly with a professional visual artist in their school. Through Creative Partnerships, a national programme initiated in 2002 to bring creative professionals into schools across England, some school children have had the opportunity for sustained project work with…

In this paper we examine the place of art in curriculum for young children of refugee families, but not from the relatively common art-as-therapy position. Instead, art is presented as a language that can provide young children with the means to engage with learning, build identity and tell their stories. This approach bypasses the deficit…

In these times when educational standards, assessment, and evaluation of core subjects seem to dominate the public school agenda including early childhood, the challenge for educators to provide essential art experiences for children is daunting. Examinations of the greater educational value of art media can reveal some answers. Knowing how…

This article offers ideas on using the center approach to teaching art. This approach involves dividing up one's classroom into different activity centers. The teacher discusses a typical scenario that could occur in a classroom. The class begins with an entire class lesson, followed by center time. The continuation of this article appears in the…

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationships among art, language, and communication through the use of children's art books in early childhood teaching. By children's art books, meaning books for children that serve as contexts for reproductions of artworks, are stunning works of art themselves, engage the curiosity and thinking of…

The rooster is an important symbol in Cuban culture. It represents strength and power. It is considered a compliment for a male to be called a rooster. Jesus Rivera, a folk artist, who is best known for using Cuban symbolism in his ceramics and illustrations, visited the class described in this article. Senor Rivera described the culture of Cuba…

In the past decade, the Reggio Emilia preschools and toddler centers have emerged from Italy as a significant international influence in early childhood education and a challenging presence to the notions held about young children in the United States. The Reggio Emilia approach raises questions about the inherent limitations of the…