This article demonstrates how Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) art discussions and subsequent, inspired artmaking can help reach the goals of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects (CCSS-ELA). The authors describe how this was achieved in a remedial…

Individuals engaging in recreational pursuits, education, work environments, and many other institutional settings are likely to be separated by age. This common practice is often considered an optimal way to facilitate programs. However, the separation of age groups has created societal consequences. It has encouraged a fear of aging and promoted…

While it would be egregious not to acknowledge the dire state and looming removal of art and music programs in many schools today, it is equally important to recognize that individual classroom atmosphere ultimately begins with and emanates from the primary/elementary teacher. Teaching of young children is a soulful experience; it comes from the…

Altruism is recognized as "a cultural behavior, well beyond instinctive behavior, and even beyond adaptive social behaviors with respect to evolutionary processes" (Wilson, 1998, p. 29) Yet, if artmaking is a cultural behavior it is one that does not appear at first "to contribute to the survival of the species" (Wilson, 1998,…

Franchised art instruction businesses are not necessarily the enemy of the art educator, and can even provide a mutually beneficial way to enrich school art education programs. This article explores the status of art education businesses as creative enterprises that offer art curricula for children as clients, beyond the traditional school and…

In this article, the author shares her kinesthetic-based art classroom unit. The kinesthetic-based art unit was originally designed to address disparities in learning styles present in her art classroom. In particular, students who were generally disruptive during teacher-centered art instruction often focused easily during lessons infused with…

Sometimes looking at the history of education can be a bit frustrating. Examination of the past is necessary, however, if people are to move forward responsibly for the sake of the child. In this article, the author examines the common ancestry of the kindergarten, art, and nature study. As the founder of the kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel played…

One of the most important factors determining a nation's level of development in the modern world is preschool education. When preschool education is perceived as an entity that affects every aspect of childhood development, this fact is undeniable. Several aspects of preschool education, including art education, play a significant role in a…

Researching whimsical and spirited artists can inspire new ideas and methods of communicating how art remains a valuable part of people's lives both in and out of the classroom. This instructional resource explores one such contemporary artist who, driven by a curiosity in human interaction, continues to explore the world in fanciful and…

Thinking about three- to six-year-olds rarely brings to mind an image of young children engaged in conversation in the formal setting of an art museum, yet these are actual comments made by preschoolers and kindergartners who spend time on the Mall in Washington, DC, visiting museums as part of their early childhood program. Today, an increasing…

More than 98 percent of children in Finland attend preschool, where different kinds of projects are carried out in order to strengthen the children's abilities. This article focuses on the effects of one arts education project from a school readiness point of view. The main question was, How did the Helsinki arts education project affect the…

The "State of the States 2012" summarizes state policies for arts education identified in statute or code for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Information is based primarily on results from the AEP Arts Education State Policy Survey conducted in 2010-11, and updated in April 2012.

Introducing reclaimed materials into the art classroom provides students with unique opportunities to connect ordinary, discarded objects with unique, personal artistic creations. In an effort to better understand this connection, this article explores existing pedagogical precedents that support the role of the inclusion of reclaimed materials in…

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationships among art, language, and communication through the use of children's art books in early childhood teaching. By children's art books, meaning books for children that serve as contexts for reproductions of artworks, are stunning works of art themselves, engage the curiosity and thinking of…

Games have played an important role in modern educational methodologies. Beginning with the work of luminaries like Froebel, Montessori, and Dewey and continuing through the Cold War, the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and '70s, and into the present day, shifts in educational practice can be traced historically using the lens of games,…