The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing stay-at-home orders have shifted family lives worldwide. Government regulations about social distancing and isolation have resulted in parents/carers and children spending most of their time together in private spaces. During the northern hemisphere spring 2020 semester, most childcare and school systems closed…

The present study reports findings on pre-service teachers' thinking during planning and implementing play-based art activities. "Thinking" (in the present study) is informed by discourses emphasising art teaching and learning in relation to play and theoretical assumptions conceptualising planning as "practice of knowing."…

This article describes how High School Visual Arts Teacher Jethro Gillespie built a portable art gallery for his students--essentially an 8-foot cube made from plywood and lightweight boards that can be assembled with bolts and taken apart in sections. The ceiling pieces of the gallery have track lights, the interior walls have been painted gray,…

Magic shows represent an authentic children's play turned into an art lesson. School art should accurately represent the unique qualities of children's art, incorporating children's experiences as young artists. An art lesson in school should not look and feel entirely different than art made outside of school. Unlike specialized adult art…

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,…

This paper utilises a Vygotskian framework to examine the ways in which teachers shape the creation of children's artwork in educational contexts. Reflexive ethnography and a bottom up approach to discourse analysis are used to analyse a range of qualitative data including photographs, observational notes and audio recordings collected from a Year…

Our purpose is to offer children tasks so they can make drawings as diverse and different from each other whilst trying to avoid imitation. Achieving this goal involves the increase of children's creativity. The paper is theoretically based on the consideration of creativity as the ability to create "something new, original, and in accordance…

This book is a guide to activities appropriate for any type of arts and crafts program including those for camps, youth and adult groups, and outdoor education. Information concerning each craft is presented in a step by step format. Specific projects list the needed equipment and materials and have simple instructions and clear illustrations. The…

Rice can be the basis for mosaics, flower arrangements, games, toys, and many things children would like to make. It can add new dimensions to making candles, coasters, and jewelry. Working with rice can aid in the development of appreciation of texture, symmetry, coordination, imagination and, at the same time, result in hand-made gifts for…

A quarter of a million schoolchildren participated in the 1981-1982 PTA Reflections Project whose theme was "What Makes Me Smile.""Reflections" was initiated to increase childrens'"hands on" experience in the arts. Twelve entries became winners in the visual arts and were on display at Chicago's Junior Museum. (CS)

Describes how kindergarten children experienced the stages involved in the ceramic process in 3 30-minute class periods. Students created freeform, textured pendants which they glazed and fired. (KM)

This book offers a wide variety of easy-to-make crafts, including toys, games, and gifts, and each project begins with a box. The book provides directions, a materials list, and suggestions for setting aside a work area. The projects are illustrated with large full-color photographs and explained with simple step-by-step instructions. Contains a…

Described is a method of tapping students' creative potential in art: the Spontaneous Response Drawing. SRD consists of drawing with a single line, usually with crayons or colored felt tip pens on a large sheet of paper. (KC)

Describes the origin of Swedish rya knotting and illustrates how it is done. Outlines a lesson plan to make a Swedish rya mat using weaving and knotting techniques. (KM)

This work presents a collection of craft projects that can be created by children. Necessary for completion of each craft is an IBM-compatible computer running Windows, "Word for Windows 6.0," with a mouse, a printer, and plain white printer paper. Simple craft supplies, including glue and scissors, also are needed. In each activity the child is…