The Story in the Picture: Inquiry and Artmaking with Young Children »

When children look at works of art they tell stories, share experiences, imagine, and explore. This book provides teachers with the skills, and freedom, to design rich and open-ended art experiences for young children. The author looks at the work of a variety of artists and offers guidance for using these artworks as taking-off points for conversations and creativity with a range of materials. She demonstrates that using fine art reproductions in the early childhood curriculum allows children to construct their own meanings, teaches diversity, fosters thinking skills, and encourages storytelling. The text includes lesson plans, examples of activities, and photographs of children working and interacting with each other and with works of art.

Foreword Maxine Greene Greene, Maxine

1 Why Teach Through Art? 1

2 Art Activities for Young Children 15

3 Talking with Children About Art 27

4 Concepts in Art 43

5 Concepts in the Early Childhood Curriculum People 58

6 The Next Steps 78

Appendix A Art Resources 83

Appendix B Sample Letter to Families 89

References 95

Index 103