Malka Haas (1920-2021) was a key pioneer in the founding of Israeli kibbutz kindergartens, and she profoundly influenced both the curriculum and practice of early childhood education (ECE) for the entire country. The article reviews Haas's biography, her professional development, and the main principles in her educational approach: "the…

This article describes how American and Japanese kindergartners see play and what teachers can learn from them. The authors share their findings from analyzing photos and interviews from 44 American children in the southeastern United States and 55 Japanese children in the main island of Japan, all aged five to six years. In the study, children…

This is a collaborative lesson written by the authors. The lesson pairs two unlikely grade levels together to complete a touching and unique collaborative project. The collaboration aspect of this unit opened up endless possibilities for future collaborations.

This article describes an integrated art and early literacy project entitled, Picture Partners". The main purpose of the project was to explore how young children create and express meaning through art. Children's responses, both written and spoken, were included because accompanying modes of expression expand the nature and content of their…

This fascinating collection of international research offers fresh perspectives on children's creative processes and the expression of their creative imagination through dramatic play, stories, artwork, dance, music and conversation. Drawing on a range of research evidence from innovative educational initiatives in a wide variety of countries,…

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…

Teachers of the visual arts have long considered the importance of how to collect and display their students' work. Throughout history, bulletin boards have covered classrooms and school hallways neatly displaying children's art work. This article briefly summarizes how documentation functions within the Reggio Emilia approach and then discusses…

In this article, the authors describe Picture Power, a project they implemented during late spring in a full-day Montessori preschool-kindergarten program in Philadelphia. In this project, the authors set out to gather information about children's visual learning. The underlying question was whether artwork could provide useful clues to inform…

Discusses an art activity that has students create pictures in which they first trace a chameleon pattern and then add camouflage to conceal the chameleon. Explains that different materials and techniques are used for students in grades k-1 and 2-5. (CMK)

Presents a torn-paper and gadget-print activity for younger students, specifically pre-kindergarten to first grade, that can be done any time over the school year or at Halloween. Discusses how the students create their funny faces and lists the materials needed. (CMK)

Describes a kindergarten art activity in which students created masks in celebration of Mardi Gras (New Orleans, Louisiana). Explains that the students learned about Mardi Gras and saw a coloring demonstration to prepare them for the project. Discusses in detail the process of creating the masks. (CMK)

Discusses a painting unit for kindergarten that focuses on color mixing and brush stroke techniques. Students paint a picture of their favorite animal. Describes the unit, listing the materials needed and including sample paintings. (CMK)

Offers an art activity that provides a balance between structure and an opportunity for students to be creative. Explains that the students begin drawing pictures of a clown through five teacher-directed steps and then the teacher leaves the children with half- finished drawings allowing them to creatively finish them on their own. (CMK)

Describes the "Beautiful Me!" kindergarten unit, which uses children's literature to help children develop a rich vocabulary to describe themselves, their friends, and family, and to avoid words placing people into categories and stereotypes. Activities include providing various skin-tone crayons for drawing and using craft materials to depict…

Ruth Faison Shaw was an art educator who developed a nontraditional educational perspective of teaching and a different vision about children's art. As such, she is considered by some to be the initiator of finger-painting in America (The History of Art Education Timeline 1930-1939, 2002.) Shaw developed the technique of finger-painting and a…