Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving Skills, and an Appreciation for Art

This is a must have book for anyone who is teaching art especially to young children. I refer back to this book all the time. Best teaching book I own. The author who is a educator of the arts gives great lessons and advice.

If you're reading reviews of this book, you're probably a parent who is interested in ways to foster your child's creative development. This book has been a revelation for me, and I would highly recommend it to fellow parents of toddlers. For those of us with little to no art education, this book is a complete resource for guiding young children through their early years with the appropriate art materials and encouragement. Covering drawing, painting, sculpture and collage, the author explains the importance of free experimentation with the media, and cautions parents against interfering with the creative process in ways that many of us may mistakenly have considered "helpful". I agree with another reviewer, who states that this information may cause pangs of guilt in those of us who have made mistakes in this area. However, the author indicates that her sequencing of art activities that build on previous experiences can be started later in toddlerhood and still be effective. I have started to weave many of the ideas from the book into our daily lives, e.g., greater availability/visibility of art materials, starting simply with black and white to focus on the drawing/painting process, encouragement with avoidance of judgemental commentary, and even borrowing and reading library books that support the concept at hand (be it color, or shape). After a couple of weeks, I have already noticed that my 2.5 year old twin boys are more interesting in working with the materials - we have a huge and growing pile of original artwork! Also, I feel much more confident as a parent in this area since I am working with the advice of a well-known art educator. Prior to this, I was getting ideas from "busy books", that mostly covered crafts that would be largely done by me and be of little benefit to my children in any way. Also, in case this helps anybody who uses this books and seeks out art materials online, I had the best success with ClassroomDirect.com (I am not affiliated with them in any way!)

I think this book is so important, it has so much info in it that I just didn't know. There are a lot of things I was doing that are actually the wrong thing to do, and I consider myself a pretty intelligent, well-read mom! Who knew I shouldn't offer her a huge box of crayons, or draw with her, or tell her that her drawing looks like a house?? Who knew she should have access to painting every day if possible? Who knew how directly early scribbling relates to later reading and writing competence? Please get this book. It's a revelation.

I just read this book yesterday and it really enlightened me to the reality that even though my daughter is just 20 months, she is starving for self-expression! It makes sense... she can't make noun-verb sentences, has a limited vocabulary, and I'm one of the only people who understands her struggled attempts at communication. So that's why she's been coloring all over the wallpaper!This book was great for me since I am artistically illiterate. I have had almost NO art education, and I don't know the first thing about how to teach ANYTHING to ANYONE. This book has simple, easy steps that I can follow... dumb things that I wouldn't know unless someone told me, like, Give your child one crayon at a time so she doesn't get overwhelmed.The other thing I liked about this book is that the author is sensitive to the reality that many of us may not have a large budget to spend on art supplies. I went to the craft store and bought everything I think I need to get started... crayons, paint, brushes, play-doh, I even splurged and got the 80-weight paper like Striker suggested... and spent less than EIGHTEEN DOLLARS!!

I wish I had had this book when my child was two. It guides the reader through the mysterious world of children's art. Basically, Striker explains that preschool children should not be "taught" art; rather, they should be allowed to experiment avidly with art materials. When given the opportunity, children use art materials to express themselves and pass through stages of mark-making that are vital to later reading and writing skills. My only complaint about this book is that Striker makes such a strong case against interfering with the natural learning process by, for example, suggesting imagery or otherwise rushing a child into the next stage of development, that it is guilt-inspiring for those of us who made some of these mistakes in the past. However, she gives the reader many concrete suggestions for appropriate art activities so that we can make up for lost time. They include the five basic art techniques: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and collage. The author explains how these mediums can be presented so as to promote the child's own discovery process. This is a very valuable book for parents, care takers, and educators.