The Art of Teaching Art to Children - by Nancy Beal & Gloria Bley Miller (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

An inspiring and comprehensive guide to art education from Nancy Beal, with Gloria Bley Miller.

In this accessibly written guide for classroom and art teachers as well as parents, Nancy Beal shows how to release children's marvelous gifts of expression. Beal believes that children must first of all be comfortable with their materials. She focuses on six basic media: collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and construction. She gives practical consideration to all facets of a teacher's responsibility: how each material should be introduced; what supplies are best; how a classroom may be set up to support children's explorations; and how teachers may ask open-ed questions to stimulate personal and meaningful expression. Beal also discusses how to integrate art into social studies and how to make museum visits productive and fun. Each chapter includes a section specifically for parents on helping their children create art at home.

Beal has taught art to children for twenty-five years and is able to draw on a wealth of examples from her classroom. The Art of Teaching Art to Children is extensively illustrated with her students' art, visual proof of her gifts as an educator and art enthusiast.

Review Quotes

"The Art of Teaching Art to Children is exactly right. Nancy Beal unfolds the magic, the practical, and a clear sense of children as she describes materials, motivations, and conservations in her Village Community School art room. This honest and thoughtful book should become a classic for all parents and teachers who cherish art in the lives of children." --Joy L. Moser, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Beal shows what children can do when they have the support of a caring adult--an adult who respects children's ideas and honors their creativity. Anyone who works with children, anyone who lives with children, should read this lovely and thoughtful book." --Peggy Kaye, author of Games for Writing

"Here is a book that will carry children from experimental beginnings as artists to full-fledged, deep expressive competency in art. Beal's knowledge of developmental growth is matched by her inspired motivational methods for teaching skills. Above all, she never loses sight of each child's personal view." --Naomi F. Pile, author of Art Experiences for Young Children

About the Author

Nancy Beal has taught art to children for twenty-five years at the Village Community School in New York City in addition to working on her own paintings. She lives with her family in Manhattan.