Meaningful Art

TITLE: Meaningful Art and Aesthetic Experiences for Young Children by Angela Eckhoff

Introduction: Building Blocks

This assignment fulfills

• Module Outcome 2: Compare benefits of creating two-dimensional art to creating three-dimensional art.
• Course Outcome 3: Examine developmentally creative learning materials, experiences, and environments for children that are culturally, linguistically and ability diversed.
• General Education Competency:You will have to communicate effectively using the conventions of American Standard English in professional and academic environments.

The Assignment:

Summarize the attached article, in your own words, by answering the three questions listed below. Each question should have an answer that has at least 5- 7 sentences. Please make sure you read the statement on Plagiarism. Also, do not copy and paste the article – that is plagiarism. 

1.    What is the main focus of the article?

2.    What are three strategies that are discussed in the article?

3.    How will you implement the strategies/ideas (from the article) when working with children?

Grading Criteria

20 points – Three paragraphs are included, each paragraph has a minimum of seven sentences

20 points – First paragraph summarizes the main focus of the article

30 points – Second paragraph summarizes three strategies from the article

20 points – Third paragraph gives specific strategies/ideas you will use when working with young children.

10 points – correct grammar and spelling are used.

Summarize this article from

Meaningful Art and Aesthetics Experiences for Young Children by Angela Eckhoff.  Young Children November 2017 

If you have difficulty accessing the article please contact your instructor.

Acceptable Length: Minimum of seven sentences  

—
Angela Eckhoff

T
hroughout early childhood education, the visual arts should be a consistent and valued component of the
daily life of the classroom (Tarr 2008). While most educators of young children offer art activities, guiding
children toward understanding and meaningfully engaging in the arts requires more intentional practices.

Such intentionality was exemplified by Ms. Lee, a master teacher at the Denver Art Museum, as she guided a
visiting class of fifteen 3- and 4-year-olds through an exhibit. Together they explored the traditional arts of peoples
indigenous to the Pacific Northwest Coast. Ms. Lee’s careful plan centered on engaging the children in three
essential elements of early arts education—art viewing, art making, and art appreciation—through a variety of
connected aesthetic experiences (Eglinton 2003). Her presentation reflected a comprehensive, holistic approach.
Supporting academic, social, and emotional goals of early childhood education, Ms. Lee’s gallery and studio
approach (described on pages 15 and 16) combined observation, discussion, storytelling, and exploration.

Meaningful Art and Aesthetic
Experiences for Young Children

Creativity Throughout the Day

14 Young Children November 20

17

and bottom of the mask. Ms. Lee asks them to think
about the long fibers and the reasons they hang down
so low. After some initial guesses—”The fibers make
it pretty,” “The birds like the long fibers”—Ms. Lee
provides a hint: “Think about if you wore this mask,
where would the fibers reach on your body?” She then
asks them to think about why and where someone
would wear this mask. The children offered a variety of
suggestions including “At a party” and “For dress-up.”

After the children propose several ideas, Ms. Lee
briefly explains the historical origins of this

type of mask for the Kwakwaka’wakw
Indians from Northern Vancouver

Island in British Columbia. The
mask represents an important
character in the tribe’s winter
ceremonial dances. Ms.

Lee then shifts the focus
to the shapes, colors, and
different media used to
construct and decorate
the mask. Following
their discussion, Ms. Lee

encourages the children
to consult the foundational

shape on the card each holds
to help them find a match in

one of the artworks in the gallery.

[Continued on p. 16]

As Ms. Lee leads the children into a gallery of
masks, sculptures, and indigenous artifacts, she talks
to them about the foundational shapes that the artists
used to create images on masks and other artifacts—
U-form, split U-form, S-form, and ovoid. Then Ms. Lee
gives each child a card with one foundational shape to
use as a guide when they later seek out the matching
foundational shape in the gallery. They make their way
toward a large, colorful, mixed-media mask (Four-
Faced Hamat’sa Mask, by George Walkus, c.

19

38)
and pause. Ms. Lee asks the children to
talk about their initial impressions.

Ava announces, “The mask
looks like a bird!” Franklin
adds, “Look! There’s
more than one bird on
the mask!” Ms. Lee
asks the children to
count the number
of birds in the
mask by focusing
on the beaks they
see. They easily
identify four birds,
then quiet down to
listen as Ms. Lee talks
about the materials
that make up the mask.

The children are fascinated by
the cedar bark fibers on the top

George Walkus, Four-Faced
Hamat’sa Mask, about 1938,
Denver Art Museum Collection:
Native Arts acquisition funds,
1948.229

November 2017 Young Children 15

Finally, the class gathers in the museum’s
studio to create artworks inspired by the
shapes, designs, and colors of those from
the Northwest Coast artists. Ava carefully
selects the ovoid, U-form, and split U-form
shapes. After talking with Ms. Lee about
her plan to create a “box with a face,” Ava
creates an animal face on the corner of
the box while placing additional designs
on the top and sides. She names the box
character “Mystery” and decides that she
will use her box to hold important treasures.
While Ava chose to use her shapes to create
a face, her classmate Maddie chose to use
U-form and split U-form shapes to decorate
the outside of her box, along with her own
drawings, to create a personal treasure box.

A holistic approach to
arts education

Guided exploration

In the gallery, Ms. Lee’s pedagogical approach can be
described as sharing, as she centered her questions
and comments on the works of art and the artists to
guide the children’s observations about the aesthetic
qualities and formal components of the works. To
further engage the children, Ms. Lee strategically
chose artworks that she thought the children would
find interesting and created the game-like hunt for
foundational shapes.

In the studio, Ms. Lee integrated the art-viewing and
art-making experiences, which increased the value
of each. The children’s aesthetic appreciation for the
art they observed and discussed deepened as they
created their own artworks inspired by the stories,
colors, shapes, and traditions of the Northwest Coast
tribes. While Ms. Lee guided the children to use
the artists’ foundational shapes, she did not have a
predetermined project for them to replicate. Ava and
Maddie designed their boxes according to their own
interests and ideas, and were free to select and use the
shapes that they felt expressed their thoughts.

Young children gain deeper understandings of the
world of art when teachers give them opportunities to
explore and discuss various artworks in conjunction
with their own art-making experiences. As children
and teachers engage in viewing, making, and
appreciating art, they experience the visual arts in
a deep, meaningful way that encourages wonder,
imagination, expression, and communication.

In a guided exploration approach to visual arts
experiences, a teacher works closely with children to
support observing and listening skills, to encourage
artistic expression, and to begin developing
appreciation for the aesthetic qualities in arts (Breşler
1993)- Guided exploration requires careful planning,
including creating multiple means of engagement
for children. (See “Guided Exploration in Ms. Lee’s
Teaching.”) This lets children learn to incorporate
a variety of artistic techniques in their work and
appreciate works of art for their history, meaning,
style, techniques, and aesthetics.

Guided Exploration
in Ms. Lee’s Teaching

Guided
exploration

Demonstrated in Ms. Lee’s
teaching

Observing

The children were guided to
make careful observations in
the gallery through discussions
and explorations supported by
foundational shape cards.

Listening

Children had many
opportunities to listen to Ms.
Lee as she shared information
using a storytelling approach.
They also had opportunities to
listen to each other because of
the conversational approach
Ms. Lee employed.

Communicating
through artistic
expression

Ms. Lee drew on the gallery
experiences later by having the
children explore traditional arts
of the Northwest Coast in their
own artworks.

Appreciating
aesthetic qualities

Ms. Lee guided the children’s
attention to the sensory
elements—lines, shapes,
colors, and media—used by
the artists. She also gave the
children time to look, explore,
appreciate, and question in the
gallery and in the studio.

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Viewing art
To ensure that children observe and discuss a great
variety of high-quality art, teachers can turn to onsite
and virtual museum visits to develop comprehensive,
holistic experiences in which children see and are
inspired by art from around the globe. Through these
experiences, children begin to interpret, negotiate, and
construct meaning from visual images.

Careful observation encourages
thoughtful reflection that enables
children to see beyond their initial
impressions and explore new ideas
and ways of understanding.

To be meaningful, art viewing cannot be a superficial
exercise. Teachers should guide children in careful
observations of the choices the artist made in creating
the work. Learning to observe is not only critical to
understanding art, it is also an important ability that
applies to many areas (e.g., good scientists and good
friends are both keen observers). Teachers of young
children support development of observation skills
by talking about a work of art’s color, line, texture,
and form (Hetland et al. 2013). The practice of careful
observation promoted during art-viewing experiences
encourages thoughtful reflection that enables children
to see beyond their initial impressions and explore new
ideas and ways of understanding.

Just as Ms. Lee did, teachers can integrate art-viewing
and art-making experiences. By giving children
opportunities to make observations about a particular
work of art and then apply their discoveries to their
own artwork, teachers guide children to engage in
meaningful artistic expression.

Making art
Children’s drawings and paintings adorn the walls
of almost all early childhood classrooms. It is not
uncommon to see certain displays repeated in
classroom after classroom—handprint butterflies,
marble paintings, and string paintings, for instance.
While all of these have value, time-honored projects
such as these should be understood as craft experiences
rather than opportunities for meaningful art making.

The key distinction is that they tend to be teacher
directed (with specific instructions) and product
oriented. Artistic merit and aesthetic experience tend to
be, at best, secondary concerns (Schirrmacher 2002).

Meaningful visual arts experiences are based on the
belief that the arts:

> Support multiple ways of knowing and learning that are
inherent in the unique nature of each child

> Empower children to communicate, represent, and
express their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions

> Offer opportunities to develop creativity, imagination,
and flexible thinking

> Enrich young children’s understanding of diverse
cultures and provide opportunities forSfrchildren to
express their cultural heritage (ECAE. n.d.)

Comprehensive early arts education offers plenty of
opportunities to engage in art-making experiences in
personally meaningful ways—including being inspired
by works of art in museums. Learning about—and
from—the work of other artists can promote new
understandings of oneself as an artist. For example,
the Van Gogh museum website (www.vangoghmuseum.
nl/en) houses images of several of the artist’s works
featuring colorful butterflies. Through guided
exploration, such works would provoke children’s
wonder and interest in butterflies, resulting in art
making that would undoubtedly surpass handprint
butterfly crafts.

Appreciating art
Appreciating art grows from a variety of aesthetic
experiences that can be thought of as open-
ended opportunities involving art exploration,
experimentation, and discovery (Schirrmacher 2002).
Aesthetic experiences are individual by nature and
require a willingness to freely engage. As such, even
though they are essential to art education, they are
not curricular components clearly scheduled in a daily
classroom agenda. Teachers create environments
that support young children’s developing aesthetic
sensibilities by providing ample opportunity to
freely explore works of art and various arts media
and materials.

Imagine, for a moment, a toddler engaged in a finger
painting experience.

18 Young Children November 2017

http://www.vangoghmuseum

Two-year-old Cameron tentatively puts one
finger into the red paint, makes a quick mark on
the paper, and pulls his finger off the paper to
examine his red fingertip. Next, he puts his red
finger into the blue paint, makes a slightly larger
mark, and pulls his finger away, seeing that the
red paint is now covered by the blue. He repeats
this process again and again with increasingly
more paint, covering both hands and paper.
Slowly, Cameron begins rubbing paint on his
arms, noting the cool, smooth feeling as colors

November 2017 Young Children

mix before his eyes. He begins experimenting
with handprints on the paper and on his legs.

Ms. Yalena, Cameron’s teacher, observes
the changes happening during his painting
experience and talks with him about
color, line, and expression. Ms. Yalena
points out to Cameron that red paint looks
different when blue is added; she also
notes his use of heavy and light marks.

Through her willingness to let Cameron explore
the paint on the paper and his skin, and through
her discussion of his art, Ms. Yalena was deepening
Cameron’s art making, enabling an aesthetically rich
experience. The cycle of exploration, experimentation,
and discovery is evident in his interactions with the
paints, the paper, and his body. In a manner appropriate
for a toddler, Ms. Yalena followed the guided-
exploration approach, providing feedback on many
qualities of Cameron’s work and supporting Cameron’s
budding aesthetic perception through experimentation
and discovery.

From museum to classroom

Teachers of young children can design visual arts
experiences in their classrooms that incorporate
guided gallery and studio explorations similar to the
ones Ms. Lee leads. As virtual galleries are offered
by many of the world’s museums, teachers can select
images that support and connect to student learning
in other content areas, including math, science, and
social studies. Many visual art museums feature online
teacher resources—lesson plans, activity guides, and
information on various artworks and artists—based on
the works of art in their collections.

Like any learning environment, online museum
sites vary considerably in quality. It is important for
teachers to preview any site that will be accessible in the
classroom to ensure that both the content and approach
to interaction is well suited to the children (e.g., for
young children, teachers should look for high-quality
images with limited text). Many young children enjoy
interactive websites that encourage their participation
through game play. For example, the Getty Museum’s
GettyGames website enables children to choose an
artwork from the collection to turn into a tile puzzle to
solve online. Many museum websites allow children to
print images or designs they encounter during their site

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Exceptional Museum-Based Websites
for Young Children

Each of these websites engages children
through games and provides appropriate
information about artworks and artists for
young students.

■ Tate Britain: Art Detective
www.tate.org.uk/kids/games-quizzes/
art-detective

■ Getty Museum: GettyGames
www.getty.edu/gettygames/

■ Museum of Modern Art: Destination
Modern Art
www.moma.org/interactives/destination/

■ National Gallery of Art:
NGAKids Art Zone
www.nga.gov/content/
ngaweb/education/
kids.html

■ Smithsonian Institution:

■ The Art Institute of Chicago:
Curious Corner
www.artic.edu/aic/education/CC/

Bottlecaps to Brushes
http://americanart.si.edu/
education/insights/cappy/
index.html

visits. The National Gallery of Art’s NGAKids Art Zone
encourages children to explore and create a variety of
artworks through an interactive design experience.
Each piece created on Art Zone can be saved as a
digital image or printed. (See “Exceptional Museum-
Based Websites for Young Children” for websites that
feature artworks from a variety of genres.)

Conclusion

High-quality museum websites have the potential to
mitigate long-standing challenges with access and to
help teachers provide broad exposure to the visual arts
for all students (Eckhoff 2014). Connecting the virtual
art-viewing experiences to the children’s art-making
experiences will promote rich, comprehensive early
arts experiences grounded in the history, traditions,
and media of the world of art. As children learn
about art and artists from around the globe, they
will have increased opportunities to understand and
relate to other artists’ expressive and imaginative
selves while they explore and develop these aspects
within themselves.

References

Breşler, L. 1993. “Three Orientations to Arts in the Primary
Grades: Implications for Curriculum Reform.” Arts Education
Policy Review 94 (6): 29-34.

ECAE (Early Childhood Art Educators) Issues Group, National
Art Education Association. N.d. “Art: Essential for Early
Learning.” Position statement. https://arteducators-prod.
s3.amazonaws.com/documents/428/70c44fo6-64c6-47do-
ae5a-82896c6coo66 ?i452797i4O.

Eckhoff, A. 2014. “Museum Spaces as a Provocation for Learning.”
Chap. 8 in Thinking Critically about Environments for Young
Children: Bridging Theory and Practice, ed. L.P. Kuh, 145-161.
New York: Teachers College Press.

Eglinton, K.A. 2003. Art in the Early Years. Teaching and
Learning in the Early Years series. New York: Routledge.

Hetland, L., E. Winner, S. Veenema, & K.M. Sheridan. 2013. Studio
Thinking 2: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. 2nd ed.
New Yortc Teacher’s College Press; Reston, VA: National Art
Education Association (NAEA).

Schirrmacher, R. 2002. Art and Creative Development for Young
Children. 4th ed. Albany, NY: DelmarThomson Learning.

Tarr, P. 2008. “New Visions\^rt for Early Childhood—A Response
to ‘Art: Essential for Early Learning,’ a Position Paper by the
Early Childhood Art Educators Issues Group.” Art Education 61
(4): 19-24.

About the author
Angela Eckhoff, PhD, is an associate professor of
teaching and learning and codirector of the Virginia Early
Childhood Policy Center at Old Dominion University,
in Norfolk, Virginia. She researches the pedagogical
practices that support and extend current conceptions of
creativity and content area learning during early childhood.
aeckhoff@odu.edu

Photographs: pp. 14,15 (top), 16 (top), 17,19, 20, © ¡Stock; p. 15 (bottom), © Denver Art Museum; pp. 16 (bottom), 17, courtesy of the author

Copyright © 2017 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at www.naeyc.org/yc/permissions.

20 Young Children November 2017

http://www.tate.org.uk/kids/games-quizzes/

http://www.getty.edu/gettygames/

http://www.moma.org/interactives/destination/

http://www.nga.gov/content/

http://www.artic.edu/aic/education/CC/

http://americanart.si.edu/

https://arteducators-prod

mailto:aeckhoff@odu.edu

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/permissions