An Inclusive Early Childhood
Development Program
Learning through the Arts
The arts have always been a cornerstone of early childhood programs. Through the arts, children develop skills and understanding that serve as a foundation for learning in other areas. The activities found in Start with the Arts™ encourage children to learn skills related to four art domains—visual arts, drama, dance and movement, and music. They are carefully designed to develop creativity and nurture the rich imagination of young children.
Visual Arts
Young children may have difficulty putting their ideas, thoughts, and feelings into words. They can still express themselves through the visual arts. It is through exploring and discovering new means of expression that children develop understanding and gain control over their world.
Start with the Arts™ visual arts lessons provide opportunities for children to create through drawing, painting, constructing, and sculpting. Children learn to view works of art with sensitivity and appreciation. They are involved actively with expressing themselves through manipulating and controlling tools and working with the concepts of color, line, shape, form, and pattern.
Drama
Drama experiences help children develop fluency of language, fluency of movement, originality, elaboration of ideas, vocabulary, imitation, and self-expression. Drama is a form of expressive language that provides a base for concept development and is invaluable for building self-esteem and self-awareness.
In Start with the Arts™, drama activities do not include formal theater that involves scripts and performances for audiences. Drama techniques are less involved and more spontaneous. They include pantomime, role playing, dialogue, improvisation, puppetry, and storytelling.
Dance and Movement
Start with the Arts™ dance and movement lessons capitalize on children’s inherent and natural love of movement. Nonverbal expression is a critical part of communication. As children enjoy dance and movement, they become more aware of the many ways they can use their bodies to express themselves and communicate.
In Start with the Arts™ lessons, children explore concepts of body, space, time, and energy as they learn to move in relationship to others and in response to rhythm and music. The lessons are not designed to teach formal dance steps.
Music
Music can set the tone for all children’s activities—from energetic activity to quiet time—and enrich the learning experience. The educator need not be a trained musician or singer to infuse the classroom with music. Any musical experience will be meaningful to children. Songs, recordings, instruments, rhythms, and the use of music to signal transitions in the school day will all be welcomed and appreciated.
Music experiences for young children include an awareness of sound and silence, rhythm and melody, and intonation and form. As children participate in early music experiences, they learn an awareness of the position of their bodies in space, also learning to explore and distinguish between such opposites as fast/slow, high/low, loud/soft, up/down, stop/go.
Refer to the Start with the Arts™ Teaching Tips in Appendix A for a list of ideas for including all children and developing literacy, general teaching tips for the arts, and more specific tips for each art domain.
Children creating during the 2007 Start with the Arts Family Festival in Washington, DC.
