In these times when educational standards, assessment, and evaluation of core subjects seem to dominate the public school agenda including early childhood, the challenge for educators to provide essential art experiences for children is daunting. Examinations of the greater educational value of art media can reveal some answers. Knowing how children make discoveries is an important part of selecting appropriate materials. Young hands respond to materials that yield to the touch. Imaginations are quick to attend to emotive expression and bright colors catch the eye. The materials create an active dialogue as they suggest relationships in their creative juxtaposition. In this manner, materials and artifacts are showcased to create an aesthetic experience. This author contends that making sense of the properties of the materials in art is a knowledge-building process that further aligns learning in the visual arts more succinctly with the classroom curriculum. From the systematic and purposeful documentation of the way that children solve problems, make meaning, and create products, art teachers can learn more about the role of media in the learning of young children. (Contains 3 notes.)