Art Play and Inquiry : The Why, What and How of Visual Arts Education With Young Children

Combining theoretical inspiration, practical guidance, and visual examples, this book empowers educators to implement rich visual arts experiences and foster joyful, art-centered learning environments with children.

Drawing upon decades of experience and research, the authors offer rich, practical, plain English information alongside inspiring images, reflection points, and visual examples to support educators to understand the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of designing and delivering a rich visual arts curriculum for and with young children. Making no assumptions about prior visual arts knowledge or experience, this informative, visually beautiful book connects theory and practice, while providing guidance to inspire and inform interactions with children and visual arts materials in meaningful ways.

This is an essential resource for educators, teachers, parents, students or academics aiming to enhance their teaching practices and enrich children's learning through visual arts. Whether you are new to visual arts education or looking to deepen your practice, this book will inspire and equip you to support children's creative and expressive potential.

Gai Lindsay is passionate about art and early childhood education, with long-term experience as a preschool teacher, academic, consultant, and art-maker. Her work focuses on visual arts pedagogy and educator self-efficacy, aiming to inspire children and educators alike to embrace lifelong joy through arts-inspired learning and play.

Sarah Probine is an academic and early childhood researcher based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work examines visual arts pedagogy and collaborative inquiry approaches, highlighting their capacity to foster intersubjectivity and interconnectedness in early childhood education.

Rachel Denee is a teacher and academic who is interested in visual arts in early childhood contexts. Her research is grounded in her experience in the early childhood sector as a teacher, leader, facilitator, and co-researcher. Rachel studies visual arts pedagogy, leadership, curriculum, and professional learning for teachers.

Denise Savins is an Early Childhood Teacher from Northern New South Wales, Australia. Denise also holds a degree in Visual Arts and has worked for a number of years as an art educator/atelierista with children aged 2–6 years. She is passionate about fostering children’s learning, creativity, and self-expression through meaningful visual arts pedagogy.