The author has always liked the look of stained-glass windows. Usually the designs are simplified and the shapes are easier for younger students to draw. This technique seemed to be the perfect place for her fifth-graders to try their hand at color mixing. The smaller spaces and simple shapes were just what she needed for this group. Her students…

Adults have long been fascinated by children's drawings and paintings. Significant research has been done on the development of representational imagery. Most young children are not primarily focused on the visual appearance of the final image. Instead they are engaged in the unfolding and observation of their ideas, their experience, and the…

This article explores aspects of young children's three-dimensional development in art making. Understanding young children's three-dimensional awareness and development is often a neglected area of early childhood educators' education and practice and often children's creative potential is not fully realised. The present article is based on a…

In school, the author sat next to Sandor the sculptor--when he was still undiscovered. He could take a pencil and, while seemingly listening in class, completely reshape the pencil by biting it. To detail his best pieces, Sandor would highlight the dents and gnashes with colored pens. Little did Sandor realize that his early efforts would be an…

In this article, the author describes a lesson he created for his second-grade classes which was inspired by the children's book, "Why is Blue Dog Blue?", by George Rodrigue. In this lesson, the students make associations between places, food and events to determine the color of their dogs. (Contains 3 resources.)

Most elementary students approach photography in an open-minded, experimental way. As a result, their images are often more playful than those taken by adults. Students discover more through their own explorations than they would learn through overly structured lessons. In this article, the author describes how he introduces his elementary…

Australia holds some of the most unique, diverse and vulnerable ecosystems in the world, ranging from marine, coral reefs, to the arid and semi-arid outback, to tropical rainforests. Young children's perceptions of, and attitudes to their environment carry with them into adulthood, determining their capacity to learn about and interact with their…

The benefits of drawing for children are wide-ranging but are likely to be mediated by the art curriculum and other governmental guidance to teachers relevant to drawing/art. Furthermore, such statutory regulations vary between cultures, and therefore curricula represent an important influence on the cultural differences found in children's…

In this article, the author shares an activity she introduced to her students. In this particular activity, students are required to design a figure, a wardrobe, and an environment for paper dolls. The author got the inspiration for this activity from her childhood pastime of playing with paper dolls. (Contains 1 online resource.)

This article describes the Fundred Dollar Bill Project which is an innovative artwork made of millions of drawings. This creative collective action is intended to support Operation Paydirt, an extraordinary art/science project uniting three million children with educators, scientists, healthcare professionals, designers, urban planners, engineers,…

Andy Goldsworthy has always been one of the author's favorite artists. He admires the way Goldsworthy works with natural material and how his work distills the elements of art and principles of design so that one can easily recognize them. In this article, the author describes how he exposed his students to the natural beauty that fall has to…

Though people may like different types of music, everyone likes music. In middle school, music and art are of key importance for students to express and define what kind of person they are. In this article, the author presents an art project where students are asked to create their own guitars. (Contains 1 resource and 3 online resources.)

Research has shown that the study of children's drawings can shed light on certain problems, allowing many invisible sides of children's school life to emerge. Based on the results of that research, this article will study whether the use of drawings, and art in general, could lead to the reduction of social and academic marginalization and to the…

The "Handbook of Research Methods in Early Childhood Education" brings together in one source research techniques that researchers can use to collect data for studies that contribute to the knowledge in early childhood education. To conduct valid and reliable studies, researchers need to be knowledgeable about numerous research…

In this article, the author presents an activity she introduced to her first-grade art students. The activity, called Rootin' Tootin' Cowpokes, was built on a theme while encouraging students to express themselves through various art media. Each student began by creating his or her own wanted poster, choosing an alter ego with a nickname, and the…