Art with Young Children

Students will explore the creative process through art, music, poetry, and storytelling. The emphasis is on the arts as communication, as a reflection of culture and history, and as a tool for community building and interacting in all aspects of the curriculum. Students examine the benefits of arts-based curriculum in the development of imagination and cognitive, language and communication, and social skills. The course demonstrates the use of cultural arts in developing Total Physical Response (TPR) and identity development strategies. Students examine examples of multiple intelligences and planning curriculum (using the cultural arts) to respond to a variety of strengths and kinds of intelligences. Students also gain skills in recognizing and defining various poetic forms, musical rhythms, and storytelling approaches (including conceptualization of a personal style, development of the ideas, techniques, and organization of the art’s elements to form creative work).