The Colors of Learning: Integrating the Visual Arts into the Early Childhood Curriculum

Unique in its creativity and depth of understanding, The Colors of Learning will change the way that teachers think about and react to children’s artwork. Promoting the integration of visual art into all early childhood curriculum areas, this volume will help early childhood professionals present in-depth art experiences to children so that they become engrossed in expressing their ideas and newly learned concepts through art media. This user-friendly volume features actual classroom dialogue throughout the text and many illustrations of children’s art, including some in full color.

Based on standards endorsed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Art Education Association (NAEA), this important book focuses on:

• Lev Vygotsky’s theory of social interactions in learning, showing how teacher-child and child-child relations become an important part of the art experience.
• Helping teachers to use more effective language to build children’s conceptual knowledge and guide them in their art making.
• The use of many kinds of art media, providing examples of developmentally appropriate activities to improve children’s thinking and learning.
• Moving away from art that is solely created to be “cute” and pleasing to adults to art experiences that develop the child’s individual expression.

Rosemary Althouse is professor emeritus of early childhood education at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina. Margaret H. Johnson is an Associate Professor teaching art criticism and art education at the State University of New York in New Paltz. Sharon T. Mitchell is a Teacher in the program for 4-year-olds in Fort Mill, South Carolina.