Welcome to your watercolor happy place! The world of Danielle Donaldson is as wondrous as a jar full of fireflies. Her whimsical illustrations are known for their offbeat color combinations, artful arrangements and endearing quirkiness. In this book, you'll learn how to partner with the wonderfully spontaneous medium of watercolor to create your own brand of magic. Start by creating a handmade journal, then follow exercises and start-to-finish projects to fill it with illustrations that are small in size but big on color. Along the way, Danielle shares her fresh takes on color theory, perspective, composition and more. Designed to get your brush moving, this book makes practice feel like play. It's a one-of-a-kind journey for any artist wishing to tap into the utter joy of watercolor painting and make it a cherished part of your daily life. Inside you'll find: • Imaginative techniques that help you override perfectionist tendencies while making the most of watercolor's unpredictable nature • An inventive approach (using scraps of paper, ribbon and other ephemera) for more creative color choices • A simple strategy that makes drawing new subjects less intimidating and more fun • Sweet ways to add hand lettering to your artwork • Inspirational exercises that make finding subjects to paint as easy as A-B-C "Don't underestimate the giddiness you feel when you mindlessly grab a color and mix it with another and create the most beautiful wash ever!" --p43

Young Children and the Arts: Nurturing Imagination and Creativity examines the place of the arts in the experiences of young and very young children at home and in out-of-home settings at school and in the community. There is great need for development of resources in the arts specifically designed to introduce babies and toddlers to participatory experiences in the visual arts, dance, music, and storytelling/theater. This book presents valuable guidelines for early childhood teachers, families, caregivers and community organizations. Young Children and the Arts presents a comprehensive approach to the arts that is aligned with early childhood developmentally appropriate practice and that combines an exploratory, materials-based approach with an aesthetic-education approach for children from birth to eight years of age. It addresses both how the arts are foundational to learning, and how teachers and parents can nurture young children’s developing imagination and creativity. The models presented emphasize a participatory approach, introducing young children to the arts through activities that call for engagement, initiative and creative activity. Additionally, Young Children and the Arts addresses the intersection of early childhood education and the arts—at points of convergence, and at moments of tension. The role of families and communities in developing and promoting arts suffused experiences for and with young children are addressed. Young Children and the Arts examines the role of innovative arts policy in supporting a broad-based early arts program across the diverse settings in which young children and their families live, work, and learn.

Creative Arts in the Lives of Young Children draws together two essential strands in contemporary educational discourse: the importance of high quality care and education in the early years, and the central role that imaginative arts experiences can and should play in the lives of all young children. A number of underlying themes are highlighted throughout the book. All are related to the potential for quality arts experiences in the early years to achieve transformational outcomes for children. These include: the enhancement and development of children's creativity and imagination * the encouragement of children's innate problem solving abilities * the opportunity to experience a diversity of cultures and a broad world-view * the scaffolding of positive attitudes, skills, and ways of being (habits of mind), to help children flourish in the 21st century. The book is grounded in current research and practice about the importance of the arts in young children's lives. Written explicitly for early childhood pre-service and in-service teachers, parents, and caregivers, it includes a range of engaging and practical creative arts activities and suggested experiences for children from birth to eight years of age. Creative Arts in the Lives of Young Children provides a combination of research, activities, and real world vignettes. It reinforces partnerships between parents and early childhood practitioners and teachers. The book covers a broad range of artistic experiences, such as storytelling, art appreciation, puppetry, paint, clay, drama, and music.

An amazing collection of art activities, some familiar, many new, all sure to guarantee complete satisfaction both to teacher and child. Each experience can be set up in an independent art center and enjoyed and explored without adult models to copy. The end result is bounded only by the imagination of the child.

Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents provides principles for effective use of different arts-based approaches in adolescent group therapy, grounding these principles in neuroscience and group process practice-based evidence. It includes chapters covering each of the main creative arts therapy modalities—art therapy, bibliotherapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, and poetry/expressive writing therapy—written by respected contributors who are expert in the application of these modalities in the context of groups. These methods are uniquely effective for engaging adolescents and addressing many of the developmental, familial, and societal problems that they face. The text offers theory and guiding principle, while also providing a comprehensive resource for group therapists of diverse disciplines who wish to incorporate creative arts-based methods into their practice with teens.

This book explores the contribution of and art and creativity to early education, and examines the role of the atelier (an arts workshop in a school) and atelierista (an educator with an arts background) in the pioneering pre-schools of Reggio Emilia. It does so through the unique experience of Vea Vecchi, one of the first atelieristas to be appointed in Reggio Emilia in 1970. Part memoir, part conversation and part reflection, the book provides a unique insider perspective on the pedagogical work of this extraordinary local project, which continues to be a source of inspiration to early childhood practitioners and policy makers worldwide. Vea’s writing, full of beautiful examples, draws the reader in as she explains the history of the atelier and the evolving role of the atelierista. Key themes of the book include: • processes of learning and knowledge construction • the theory of the hundred languages of childhood and the role of poetic languages • the importance of organisation, ways of working and tools, in particular pedagogical documentation • the vital contribution of the physical environment • the relationship between the atelier, the atelierista, the school and its teachers This enlightening book is essential reading for students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers in early childhood education, and also for all those in other fields of education interested in the relationship between the arts and learning.

The award-winning illustrations of 57 Caldecott Books (1938-1994) have inspired a multitude of lessons that guide students in creating art with similar qualities. Focusing on such principles and elements as line, color, texture, shape, value, and space, these classroom-tested projects have step-by-step instructions, materials lists, and detailed illustrations for teachers who have little or no art training. Various art media are explored, including pencil, crayon, marker, colored pencil, chalk, stencils, collage, watercolor, tempera, color mixing, and printmaking. These projects use limited materials so they're great for the classroom as well as the art room.