Reflection is a vital part of learning, and yet in early childhood, research work on reflection is most commonly on that undertaken by teachers, and not children. This article draws from a participatory study showing how creative research methods and somatic movement enabled 22 children aged 4-11 to reflect on their experiences and document their…

In this research article, Haeny Yoon and Tran Nguyen Templeton explore the challenges of listening to children in both classrooms and research that purports to center young children. Through two stories from their respective studies, Yoon and Templeton highlight the complexities of following children's leads given the competing agendas situating…

This paper explores a number of examples of what appeared to be recurring symbolic expressions of spirituality found in my recent research into the spiritual experiences of children in Victorian State primary schools. These expressions appeared in drawings and in conversation. In this paper I use hermeneutic phenomenology and a multidisciplinary…

Previous research on children's drawing and writing focused on children's drawing and symbolization with syllabic languages, providing little information regarding young children's symbolization in drawing with a logo language. This study investigated children's emergent writing by examining qualitatively how children's writing takes place as…

From a sociocultural approach to literacy, young children, including culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children, can be viewed as active meaning-makers through participation in everyday literacy practices. This theoretical emphasis on the importance of the social context requires teachers and caregivers not only to improve and co-create…

This book provides tools for educators to help children respond to traumatic events with resiliency and hope. Created as an extension of the "9/11 As History" initiative, the book provides an overview of 16 unique lesson plans created for children from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade. It also contains selections from the writings…

The drawings of 17 four- to five-year-old children from two points in time, age four and age five were analyzed. At both ages four and five, the most commonly used scribbles were single vertical lines, single horizontal lines, and single curved lines, whereas the two least used scribbles were spiral and circular lines spread out. The subjects in…

This booklet is a representative collection of children's essays and drawings from "Father of the Year" contests sponsored by the National Center for Fathering and the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. The materials have been selected from tens of thousands of entries received from communities across the nation. The essays are divided by grade…

Describes Image-making Within the Writing Process, an innovative art-based literacy program designed to entice even the most discouraged of learners with a series of process-oriented art explorations and concrete tools for thinking through and designing stories. (SR)

In this article, the author discusses children's art and writing and how they connect. Different ages and stages of art and writing are presented. The process of creating handmade books is another area where art and writing intersect. Since both are an important means of communication, books are an important way to combine art and writing, and to…

Each month throughout the school year, two second grade teachers at Lessenger Elementary highlight a different children's author. The interdisciplinary lessons that evolved the month they selected Margaret and H.A. Rey's Curious George books were the most successful. In this article, the author relates how art, story writing, reading aloud, and…

Presents strategies for using children's drawing as scaffolding for early writing: (1) paving the way with drawing (talking about drawing, asking the right questions, social context); and (2) getting stories into writing (supporting children just learning what letters look like, with a good mental image of some letters, who can write most letters,…

This book is a collection of essays in which the author counters high-stakes testing, the pathologizing of children, and the unrelenting critique of public schools with a persuasive account of how children actively make sense of the world and their experience through the making of works, such as drawings, constructions, and writings. The book is…

Outlines the following three ways teachers can incorporate art, reading, and writing in the classroom: (1) single- and double-entry journals, for writing about art and drawing; (2) sketch-to-sketch, where students illustrate their interpretation of a selected portion of text; and (3) literature and art, using children's literature to inspire…

Recounts an art lesson plan, inspired by the book "Learning to Swim in Swaziland," where the students created their own accordion books. Appeals to the many ethnicities at this particular school, allowing all the students to present their unique backgrounds. Gives a suggestion list, directions, and specifies materials. (CMK)