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…

In the theoretical part of this paper, the author gives answers to the question of whether a real attachment relationship can exist between a child and a non-maternal caretaker. She introduces diagnostic meaning of children's drawings. The purpose of the study was to investigate how children's social behavior and their attachment to the…

The "Out of the Box" Festival of Early Childhood is a unique public event in Australia designed to enrich the creative and cultural lives of children aged 3-8 years and their communities. The research linked to this festival is based on the premise that parents' participation in, and value of the arts, impacts engagements with, and value…

This study investigated the use of the developmental level of kindergarten children's art work as a predictor of readiness for first grade. The sample consisted of 55 children (33 girls and 22 boys) in three kindergarten classes. All were over 5 years of age and had not attended kindergarten before. The kindergarten screening measure used a…

This paper discusses the nature and function of children's literature and theater. Artistic creative work for children is constituted not only by literature but also by the theater, film, radio and television. Children's literature used to be an art of narration, a verbal text coupled with gesture. Modern, highly technical communication media have…

Responding to children's natural interest in creating art, early childhood educators have historically given the visual arts an honored place in the curriculum. Even in the 1980s and 1990s, as the push for earlier academic skill development increased, art continued its centrality in programs for young children. This chapter offers teachers theory…

This article, first in a monthly series of six, presents a theoretical overview of artistic development in young children during the prerepresentational stage and draws implications from this for teachers on intervening in a child's artistic development through dialogues. (SJL)

Describes how one teacher helped preschool children draw. Shows how she guided a 4-year-old to use stencils to draw fish independently, helped children use their knowledge of shapes to guide their drawing of animals, and guided children to draw what was important to them. Asserts that helping children to express their ideas independently in…

One way to ease the transition of attachment and separation is through art. Creating a transitional object in the classroom to send home with the children effectively reinforces the importance of the relationship between the child and teacher or provider. Art also helps young children to express feelings, improve motor skills, solve problems, and…

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)

Presents a case study, through observation of a child named Hawk Weisman, that demonstrates a child's use of drawing to find meaning. Discusses Hawk's motivations for drawing, the recurring themes that encompass both humanistic and scientific concepts, and his homemade books. Addresses the educational implications. (CMK)

This collection of recipes is intended for art teachers to provide low-cost, non-toxic materials for classroom use. The materials needed are readily available and can be purchased in quantity to help the budget conscious teacher. Recipes included are for modeling materials, edible modeling materials, paints and inks, adhesives, fixatives, and…

This is a 600-reference bibliography on the development of children's conceptions and artistic representations of God. References are presented in 12 categories: (1) The God Concept, (2) Concept Development, (3) Child Development and Developmental Child Psychology, (4) Religious Education, (5) Children's Religious Thought and Development, (6)…

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