Suggests guidelines for art activities that are based on four major developmental characteristics of toddlers: the acquisition of new motor skills, the development of psychological autonomy, the broadening of social relations, and the achievement of symbolic communication. (Author/RH)

Community partnerships serving young children and families take many forms. This article presents six community partnerships that are engaged in innovative and creative approaches to learning. These programs have varied goals, but they share a common focus on linking community resources to enhance learning opportunities for the children and…

Explores how teachers in early childhood programs can contribute to the aesthetic development of young children. Suggestions include sharing awareness of beauty; attending to design of school environment; providing fine art in classroom; exploring artwork with children; providing beautiful books; direct experience with art/artists; providing…

Focuses on the importance of conversation between adult and child as the young child engages in artistic activities. Different kinds of conversations appropriate for art education are suggested on the assumption that such talk facilitates cognitive development and results in increased artistic motivation. (DP)

Discusses the renewed interest in clay as a modeling compound in early childhood programs; describes the nature of clay and presents a working vocabulary. Suggests methods of working with clay, including introducing clay to children, discovering its uses, clean up, firing clay, and finishing baked clay. Includes activity suggestions and…

Offers practical advice for teaching art in early childhood classrooms. Encourages respect for children's individual artistic style. Discusses paints and markers, blocks, fingerpaints, bubbles, collages, and other art materials. Includes recipes for fingerpaint. (GH)

Discusses the ways in which teachers can use art activities to provide a variety of learning experiences which encourage both creative expression and intellectual development. Lists basic art media and their inherent learning possibilities. (ED)

Describes several arts activities in early childhood classrooms, then explains why the activities are or are not creative. Discusses characteristics of creativity and ways for teachers and caregivers to encourage the creative process in children. (BB)

Suggests that early childhood teachers should eliminate boring, repetitive activities from their curriculum and engage students' minds in activities that stimulate thinking and reasoning. Instead of making paper snowflakes, for example, children might discuss and examine the characteristics of snow, study weather, and engage in other creative…

Discusses ways that arts and crafts can be integrated into content learning activities. Describes activities in a unit on animals in winter, noting that arts and crafts present an opportunity for children to demonstrate learning in new ways. (JW)

Provides classroom examples of appropriate methods for extending art understanding through discussion. Suggests that teachers can easily foster art appreciation through nondirective means; the children can then select what is important to them and thereby begin to build their own personal store of imagery, which can lead to enhanced learning in…

Describes the types of classroom art experiences that should be provided for young children and discusses reasons teachers continue to rely on recipe art lessons. Suggests learning center activities and materials, as well as ways that teachers can facilitate creativity. Considers how coloring books dampen children's motivation to draw. (KB)

Describes the advantages of using household food ingredients for art and science activities. Also discusses experiences with foods that are appropriate and inappropriate. (AS)

Describes the changes that took place at a private nursery school when it decided to replace teacher-directed art activities, an early emphasis on academic skills, and other developmentally inappropriate activities with student-centered and student-directed art and play activities that are more developmentally appropriate. (MDM)

Early and ongoing exposure to entomology promotes interest in insects, minimizes fear of nature, and instills appreciation for biodiversity. Three effective ways to introduce young children to the study of insects are: live collections for observation and investigation, re-creation of insects through artistic constructions to learn structure and…