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The Art of Teaching Art to Children: In School and at Home
An inspiring and comprehensive guide to art education from Nancy Beal, with Gloria Bley Miller.
In this accessibly written guide for classroom and art teachers as well as parents, Nancy Beal shows how to release children's marvelous gifts of expression. Beal believes that children must first of all be comfortable with their materials. She focuses on six basic collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and construction. She gives practical consideration to all facets of a teacher's how each material should be introduced; what supplies are best; how a classroom may be set up to support children's explorations; and how teachers may ask open-ed questions to stimulate personal and meaningful expression. Beal also discusses how to integrate art into social studies and how to make museum visits productive and fun. Each chapter includes a section specifically for parents on helping their children create art at home.
Beal has taught art to children for twenty-five years and is able to draw on a wealth of examples from her classroom. The Art of Teaching Art to Children is extensively illustrated with her students' art, visual proof of her gifts as an educator and art enthusiast.
In this accessibly written guide for classroom and art teachers as well as parents, Nancy Beal shows how to release children's marvelous gifts of expression. Beal believes that children must first of all be comfortable with their materials. She focuses on six basic collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and construction. She gives practical consideration to all facets of a teacher's how each material should be introduced; what supplies are best; how a classroom may be set up to support children's explorations; and how teachers may ask open-ed questions to stimulate personal and meaningful expression. Beal also discusses how to integrate art into social studies and how to make museum visits productive and fun. Each chapter includes a section specifically for parents on helping their children create art at home.
Beal has taught art to children for twenty-five years and is able to draw on a wealth of examples from her classroom. The Art of Teaching Art to Children is extensively illustrated with her students' art, visual proof of her gifts as an educator and art enthusiast.
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2001
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132 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 3, 2009
Two reviews on the Art of Teaching Art to Children are available at:
http://www.greenmamma.org/blog/2009/0...
http://www.greenmamma.org/blog/2009/0...
http://www.greenmamma.org/blog/2009/0...
http://www.greenmamma.org/blog/2009/0...
May 30, 2018
Definitely a book I will plan to go back to as an elementary art educator.
Good stuff in there about how to lesson plan, supplies and what not to do with young students.
But I was hoping for more substance. More pictures, more laying the fundamentals of teaching year by year/grade by grade - rather than by technique.
For example, it would have been more impactful, to have written the book like say 3-5 years, these are the kinds of art activities to do, this is where they are at developmentally etc etc, and hence, for their exploration and development, this is what to do in the art room.
Rather than, talking, medium by medium, how to teach.
I hope this makes sense.
The child development aspect, needed to be emphasised more, for educators and parents alike.
But good reference book overall.
Good stuff in there about how to lesson plan, supplies and what not to do with young students.
But I was hoping for more substance. More pictures, more laying the fundamentals of teaching year by year/grade by grade - rather than by technique.
For example, it would have been more impactful, to have written the book like say 3-5 years, these are the kinds of art activities to do, this is where they are at developmentally etc etc, and hence, for their exploration and development, this is what to do in the art room.
Rather than, talking, medium by medium, how to teach.
I hope this makes sense.
The child development aspect, needed to be emphasised more, for educators and parents alike.
But good reference book overall.
July 8, 2022
This is a helpful book for home school parents. It can also be used by school teachers. It assists you with collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, construction, and social studies projects for children. This resource is worth your time.
July 7, 2020
Excellent, experience based advice.
July 21, 2013
Great tips for parents at the end of each chapter, if you're looking to do art at home. I love the way she describes the art process — set up, clean up, the language she uses to comment on children's art. Truthfully, it can feel a little discouraging for me as a homeschooling parent — there is just no way I can do all of that stuff. But she isn't asking me to, and we do other things instead.
Collage
[] collect materials, interesting-looking papers and fabrics.
[] elmer's glue in baby food jars with brushes
Drawing
[] try a few different kinds of drawing pencils, and separate erasers.
[] Nancy Smith and the Drawing Study Group's Observation Drawing with Children. Good for older kids, ages 9-10.
Painting
[] She talks a lot about experimenting with color mixing here.
[] Don't draw with paint. Start with the paint in the center of the painting/subject. No need to outline.
[] Tempera paints are difficult to use at home. Consider trying tubes of acrylics, squeezed out on a paper palette. Cray-pas have a painterly feeling to them.
Clay
[] Try natural clay, but there is also self-hardening clay and plasticine.
Printmaking
[] Try styrofoam trays from grocery store meat. Draw on them with a dull pencil, then print.
[] Stamp painting is great for home, with potato prints and carrot prints (carve them with a knife). You can also try a collograph by cutting out a scene from cardboard with scissors, then attaching it to a base.
[] The only special items you need are a small roller to roll out the ink and the ink itself.
[] Printmaking is great for holiday time. You can easily make your own cards at home and duplicate them in quantity.
Construction
[] Save a bunch of cardboard boxes and let them go to town!
[] Try using tabs of cardboard to reinforce joinings.
[] You can cover a constructed item in papier-mâché and then paint it.
[] Stick puppets are fun. Cut out large and small rectangles, and then provide lots of textures to cover the puppets (fabric, yarn, fur).
Social Studies
[] She does a lot of art that reinforces what they learn in their social studies unit. They create art that is reminiscent of the art of a various cultures, ancient and more recent. She offers lots of suggestions here. One in particular that goes well is the large mural.
This makes me want to take field trips and recreate art!
A very, very good resource. I may end up buying this book someday.
Collage
[] collect materials, interesting-looking papers and fabrics.
[] elmer's glue in baby food jars with brushes
Drawing
[] try a few different kinds of drawing pencils, and separate erasers.
[] Nancy Smith and the Drawing Study Group's Observation Drawing with Children. Good for older kids, ages 9-10.
Painting
[] She talks a lot about experimenting with color mixing here.
[] Don't draw with paint. Start with the paint in the center of the painting/subject. No need to outline.
[] Tempera paints are difficult to use at home. Consider trying tubes of acrylics, squeezed out on a paper palette. Cray-pas have a painterly feeling to them.
Clay
[] Try natural clay, but there is also self-hardening clay and plasticine.
Printmaking
[] Try styrofoam trays from grocery store meat. Draw on them with a dull pencil, then print.
[] Stamp painting is great for home, with potato prints and carrot prints (carve them with a knife). You can also try a collograph by cutting out a scene from cardboard with scissors, then attaching it to a base.
[] The only special items you need are a small roller to roll out the ink and the ink itself.
[] Printmaking is great for holiday time. You can easily make your own cards at home and duplicate them in quantity.
Construction
[] Save a bunch of cardboard boxes and let them go to town!
[] Try using tabs of cardboard to reinforce joinings.
[] You can cover a constructed item in papier-mâché and then paint it.
[] Stick puppets are fun. Cut out large and small rectangles, and then provide lots of textures to cover the puppets (fabric, yarn, fur).
Social Studies
[] She does a lot of art that reinforces what they learn in their social studies unit. They create art that is reminiscent of the art of a various cultures, ancient and more recent. She offers lots of suggestions here. One in particular that goes well is the large mural.
This makes me want to take field trips and recreate art!
A very, very good resource. I may end up buying this book someday.
December 17, 2012
I was trying to discover the role of art class in elementary school- what are the goals and reasonable expectations for children during their time there. This book did a good job of discussing the scope and sequencing, when a teacher can intervene and guide or when to stand back. Her emphasis on mastering different materials rather than focusing on specific projects or achievments was well reasoned.
Two things I found distracting; 1) she took the job and then worked out herself what she wanted to teach and how best to do that(Again- I was looking for those guidelines from a parent POV and found that approach disconcerting for a nearly universal subject like elementary art didn't seem to have standards, at least when she was first working.)
2 She worked in a private school. 14 pampered choosen children per grade, but naively states she doesn't think anything would be different in a public school.(Hmmm. Less control over time and funding, 25 children in a class, multiple cultural and economic backgrounds, children with learning differences, behavior plans, and aides.)
Two things I found distracting; 1) she took the job and then worked out herself what she wanted to teach and how best to do that(Again- I was looking for those guidelines from a parent POV and found that approach disconcerting for a nearly universal subject like elementary art didn't seem to have standards, at least when she was first working.)
2 She worked in a private school. 14 pampered choosen children per grade, but naively states she doesn't think anything would be different in a public school.(Hmmm. Less control over time and funding, 25 children in a class, multiple cultural and economic backgrounds, children with learning differences, behavior plans, and aides.)
September 15, 2016
A truly delightful read. The respect Nancy Beal has for children is tremendous, and it shows. She not only includes detailed information for teaching children, but also specific advice for parents and adults on how to support children's art. She seeks to give children command of materials so they can use them to connect with their emotions and experiences.
This book is a great POV on the natural language that art is for children. It inspired me not only from a teaching perspective, but also reminding me of the innate enthusiasm we as humans have for expressing ourselves visually. We once truly were truly thrilled by finding transparent paper in the collage box or discovering how to mix lavender. We had boundless ideas and were eager to share them.
This book is a great POV on the natural language that art is for children. It inspired me not only from a teaching perspective, but also reminding me of the innate enthusiasm we as humans have for expressing ourselves visually. We once truly were truly thrilled by finding transparent paper in the collage box or discovering how to mix lavender. We had boundless ideas and were eager to share them.
May 28, 2008
A great resource for art teachers. The author gives clear directions about ways to set up the classroom and also great project ideas. Really inspirational. May also be a good read for those interested in home schooling
February 24, 2011
I'm just looking for more art teaching motivation. this one had a couple things i wrote down, but mostly was just 'meh' (to someone who studied art education - would probably be great for someone who didn't).
August 4, 2014
The book is organized by materials which is fantastic. She also explains how different ages will use and process materials at different levels. This was a great read for me as a beginning art educator.
October 14, 2015
I found this book bland and not all that useful; most projects were very simple and could be found online or thought up without this book. It doesn't help that this accompanied one of the worst classes I have ever taken...
February 11, 2016
What I love about this book is that it doesn't subscribe to the current idea of giving kids a goal for their finished product. She allows the children to discover their own creativity through the materials. This is true art education. If you are looking for a "how to make x" book, this isn't it.
April 14, 2008
I use this book in my first year of teaching art class. It's very useful and handy. The author gave a lot of study cases and how to handle certain situations.
September 4, 2009
One of my favorite art books ever.
November 1, 2009
One of my favorite art technique books for children. Lots of practical ideas for organizing and setting up materials. Inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews