The Art of Teaching Art to Children: In School and at Home

I bought this as a home-educator searching for ways to get my son to try something different from his usual pencil-drawings of castles. All the other books I saw were merely like recipe books; step-by-step instructions to produce any number of entirely copied pictures and craft projects. This author, however, focusses on how to present children with questions which can then be enthusiastically answered in art. For example, "What do you do after school?" or "How do animals show their feelings?" could produce any number of pictures or models. She of course details useful skills that can be taught in an enjoyable way to enable the children to portray the world effectively. For example, her way of drawing the human figure from life using a simple 'sausage' system enables children to depict action with amazingly effective results. Unfortunately, budding class teachers in the UK might feel very despondant after reading her tips for organising art tuition in the classroom. She is clearly blessed with a dedicated art room and ample time to prepare resources before each lesson, though the materials she uses are not necessarily inaccessible or expensive. Against all my expectations, my son and I spent many enjoyable hours creating impressive artworks out of inside-out boxes and masking tape. I urge trainee primary teachers to read this book before their PGCEs kill their ideals.

I love this book. It confirms a lot of my instincts as a young art teacher - emphasising familiarity with materials above all else - using open-ended questions to kick-start projects - and provides lots of examples of teaching situations and teacher interventions (or not). It is such a positive read and shows Nancy's joy for and love of teaching art. Really inspiring! I'm so happy to have found it.

The book is easy and there are notes for parents which I liked very much but I was expecting something a bit more colourful with probably some of the drawing samples from children of different ages. Otherwise it's a very good book. (There are some pictures of children and their work but they are black and white.)

This book is a must for any teacher. This art teacher reminds us the essence of teaching. She shares the most useful experiences and addresses the probblems specialists teachers encounter. A jewel of a book. Maria Bengoechea Montessori teacher

An interesting an informative book , full of good ideas.

great book - good ideas and thoughts.

Lots of very useful info - mainly for teaching 6 -12 yr olds. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject/age group

Well laid out, good focus on how children 'see' things plus the importance of conversations