Preface -- section 1. Creativity -- 1. Understanding creativity -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Beginnings of creativity -- Creativity -- Explaining creativity -- Obstacles to creativity -- Children need adults who facilitate creative expression -- Comparing and contrasting creativity -- Creativity and child development -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 2. Creative thinking -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Activities for creative thinking -- Facilitating young children's creative thinking -- Strategies to facilitate creative thinking -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 3. Creative experiences -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Creativity enhances children's development -- Modes of creative expression -- Children express their creativity through play -- Children express their creativity through language -- Children express their creativity through music and movement -- Facilitating children's creative expression -- Mark making -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review.

section 2. Young children as artists : a developmental view -- 4. Art and the developing child -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Developmental model -- Developmental profile -- Context : interaction of child development and environmental influences -- Processing with art materials and tools -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 5. Children's artistic development -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Explaining children's art -- Theories of artistic development -- Painting -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review.

section 3. Art and aesthetics -- 6. The elements of art -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Aesthetic criteria -- Making prints -- Stencil, spatter, and screen printing -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 7. Aesthetics -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Aesthetics -- Rationale -- Teacher's role in aesthetics -- Watercolor and ink -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 8. Sensory experiences -- Objectives -- Introduction -- From percept to concept -- More than five senses -- Children's learning styles -- Resist art activities -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 9. The complete early childhood art program -- Objectives -- Introduction -- The importance of arts education -- Art standards -- Early childhood art : studio-oriented or discipline-based? -- What to include in an early childhood art program -- Artistic styles -- Collage -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review.

section 4. Providing art experiences -- 10. Child-centered art vs. teacher-directed projects -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Approaches to teaching art -- How to choose art activities -- What early childhood art should be -- Activities masquerading as creative art -- Paper art -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 11. Planning, implementing, and evaluating art -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Teacher as planner and curriculum developer -- Goals -- Values and beliefs -- Objectives -- Strategies for including art in the early childhood curriculum -- Clay and play dough -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 12. Integrating art across the early childhood curriculum -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Art and the early childhood curriculum -- Art and math -- Art and science -- Art and the language/communication arts and literacy -- Art and social studies -- Art and the expressive arts -- Three-dimensional art -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 13. The art center -- Objectives -- Introduction -- The art center -- Evaluating an art center/program -- Puppets and masks -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review.

section 5. Roles and strategies -- 14. Art experiences through technology -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Computers in early childhood education -- Computers and art -- Mobiles and stabiles -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 15. Roles, responses and strategies to support children's art -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Teacher as art specialist -- Teacher as responder -- Art dialogue -- Teacher as troubleshooter -- Sewing and weaving -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review -- 16. Art assessment -- Objectives -- Introduction -- Teacher as observer, recorder, and assessor -- Children's art files and folders -- Art assessment -- Instrument for artistic assessment -- Summary -- Key terms -- Suggested activities -- Review.

Appendices -- Appendix A. Artistic junk -- Appendix B. Where to go in your local community for artistic junk -- Appendix C. Art resources -- Appendix D. Catalogues -- Appendix E. Art-related books -- Appendix F. Professional organizations -- Appendix G. Resources for young children with special needs -- Appendix H. National standards for arts education -- Appendix I. Multicultural picture books -- Glossary of key terms -- References -- Index.