Reviewed by Linda D. Labbo
Review Section Editor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, USA
The Arts in Children's Lives: Aesthetic Education in Early Childhood. Written by Mary Renck Jalongo and Laurie Nicholson Stamp. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1997. ISBN 0-205-14567-1 (paperback). 277 pages.
The projected audience for this book is appropriately wide: beginning and experienced teachers who interact with young children in early childhood classrooms, Headstart programs (a federal initiative in the United States intended for children from low-income and disadvantaged families), daycare settings, and private and public schools will all find ideas for arts-related and literacy-connected classroom activities. Additionally, educators of preservice teachers who are looking for a textbook that creatively integrates the arts, the language arts, and interdisciplinary units into the early childhood curriculum will be interested in examining The Arts in Children's Lives.
The book consists of eight chapters divided into three parts: (1) Young Children and the Arts, (2) The Home and School Arts Environments, and (3) Planning, Assessing, and Rethinking the Arts Curriculum. Each chapter begins with questions designed to help readers thoughtfully consider the topics addressed. Descriptive vignettes provide opportunities for readers to reflect on how to observe children's engagement with the arts. Each chapter ends with a rich assortment of practical classroom ideas.
The three chapters in Part 1 provide a foundation for the rest of the book. Outlined here are topics including aesthetic education, how the arts contribute to children's lives, and a developmental perspective of children's artistic abilities. Artistic heritages and identities are celebrated within the context of children's cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Areas of the arts considered include arts and crafts, music and movement, and drama.
The two chapters in Part 2, “Home and School Environments for the Arts,” delve into the roles of family members and teachers in supporting children's artistic growth. Powerful home-school connections through the arts are investigated. The authors also do a fine job of discussing the multiple roles early childhood teachers need to play in establishing and maintaining an inviting arts environment.
The three chapters in Part 3 explore issues related to integrated arts curricula, planning, and assessment in arts and aesthetics -- and how to awaken the artist within the young child. Engaging examples of integrated arts curricula for children from infancy through the primary grades are provided.
Appendices include reproductions of helpful documents, resource lists, and useful hints. For example, teachers will find suggestions for how to teach a song to young children, how to help them view an artistic masterpiece, and how to locate sources for materials, organizations, and journals that support the arts in early childhood education.
This is a wonderful resource for teachers and other adults who wish to help children find ways to express their ideas through the arts.
Back to index of reviews of professional books