EDU 151
Spring 2016
Chapter 1: Arts and
Young Children
“Every day everywhere in the world, young
children make a fist around a pencil or
crayon, or drag their fingers in earth or
frosty windows, to scribble.”
—Sylvia Fein (1993, p. xii)
Who are the Young Artists?
Children from Birth to age 8
Who Are the Young Artists
(continued)
Children of these ages are:
• Learning through play
• Developing control over their bodies
• Curious
• Have short attention spans
• Unique
What Are the Creative Arts?
Natural
Behavior
Cultural
Expression
SelfExpression
Creative
Product
Historical
Construct
Technique
and Form
Play
Way to
Communicate
Commodity
What Are the Arts?
All the art forms encompass:
• Creative problem-solving
• Playfulness
• Expression of feelings and ideas
What Are the Creative Arts?
(continued)
All the art forms encompass:
• Creativity
• Play
• Self-Expression
What Are the Creative Arts?
(continued)
Creative Movement or Dance
What Are the Creative Arts?
(continued)
Drama
What Are the Creative Arts?
(continued)
Music
What Are the Creative Arts?
(continued)
Visual Arts
Why Should the Arts Be
Taught to Young Children?
The arts help children grow.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Intellectually
Linguistically
Physically
Emotionally
Perceptually
Socially
• Creatively
The Well-Designed Arts
Program
Is based on:
• Learning theory
• Developmentally appropriate practice
• Goals & Standards
How Do the Creative Arts
Help Children Learn?
Learning theories can provide direction in
designing worthwhile arts learning
experiences:
• The Constructivist Theory
• The Sociocultural Theory
• The Multiple Intelligences Theory
How Do the Creative Arts
Help Children Learn? (continued)
Howard Gardner has proposed eight
intelligences or learning aptitudes:
Linguistic
LogicalMathematical
Spatial
Musical
BodilyKinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalistic
What Does A Well-Designed
Arts Curriculum Look Like?
An early childhood arts curriculum requires:
•
•
•
Children to be active participants.
Arts activities to be real and integrated.
Sufficient materials, time, and space and a nurturing
teacher of the arts.
Task Force on Children’s Learning and the Arts (1998) and
National Arts Education Standards
What Does A Well-Designed
Arts Curriculum Look Like?
(continued)
A developmentally appropriate early childhood
arts curriculum requires us to ask:
 Is this activity appropriate for this age?
 Is this activity appropriate for every child?
 Is this activity unbiased? Does it take into
account social, physical, and cultural
differences?
What Does A Well-Designed
Arts Curriculum Look Like?
(continued)
An early childhood arts curriculum develops:

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

Knowledge
Dispositions
Feelings
Skills
What Does a Well-Designed
Arts Curriculum Look Like?
(continued)
It incorporates the standards:
• National Common Core Standards in the Arts, ELA &
Mathematics
http://www.corestandards.org/
http://www.arteducators.org/news/national-coalition-for-core-arts-standards-nccas
• State Standards
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/elgwebsites .html
What Does a Well-Designed
Arts Curriculum Look Like?
(continued)
National Common Core Standards in the Arts
address:
•
•
•
•
Creating
Performing/Presenting/Producing
Responding
Connecting
Conclusion: The Well-Designed
Arts Program
Check out these early childhood programs.
How are the arts infused into their
curricula?
 New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common
Core:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/pdfdocs/ny
slsprek.pdf
 Reggio Emilia: http://www.reggiochildren.it/?lang=en
 HighScope Early Childhood Curriculum:
http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=1
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia – an example
• Attention to the aesthetics of the environment
• Provision of an artelierista
• Use of emergent curriculum
Summary
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
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Growth Theory
DAP
Play
Emergent
Valuing the Arts
Goals/Standards
Teaching