A highly topical look at the role of art and the importance of creativity in our lives and the wider world. Art, in its widest sense, encompasses many different forms, from painting and poetry to dance, pottery and quilting and much else besides. Creativity is an essential part of what makes us human as well as being crucial for a range of disciplines in the world of work, including science, architecture and technological innovation. This book asks many questions relating to the importance of art in our lives, such as where is art and where does the impulse to make art come from? Who are artists? What is art for? Can art change anything? What use is the imagination and what is the point of daydreaming? It includes pieces from a range of contributors, including Kate Clanchy, Lemn Sissay, Preti Taneja and Andria Zafirakou, who write about their relationship with art and describe what being creative means to them and to others. Aimed at young people aged 10 and upwards. Part of the groundbreaking and important 'And Other Big Questions' series, which offers balanced and considered views on the big issues we face in the world we live in today. Other titles in the series include: Who are Refugees and Migrants? What makes people leave their homes? What is Right and Wrong? Who decides? Where do values come from? What is Race? Who are racists? Why does skin colour matter? What is Mental Health? Where does it come from? What is Politics? Why should we care?

Creative Activities for the Early Years contains over 160 art and craft activities for use by reception classes, nurseries, playgroups, and mother and toddler groups, as well as by parents and carers. These tried and tested activities will help children to; use their imagination; express themselves creatively; communicate their ideas; and develop gross and fine motor skills. The activities are grouped by popular early years themes, together with songs and rhymes, suggestions for stories and things to talk about. Whether your topic is the autumn, the Chinese New Year, the coastline or ourselves, you can be sure you and your children will find the variety of activities interesting and entertaining.

This engagingly written, research- and practice-based book defines how art teachers can build on students' creative initiatives without depending on adult-imposed lesson plans and school requirements. In doing so, art educator and author George Szekely explores the role of the arts in developing children's creativity and sense of purpose, and reminds readers that students in the art classroom are unique artists, designers, and innovators. Against the backdrop of a school culture that over-emphasizes compliance and standardization, Szekely recognizes the importance of the role of the art teacher in supporting the artistic independence and creative flare that occurs naturally in students of all ages in the classroom. Providing real-life examples of classrooms and schools that work towards championing child artists, this text arms teachers with the skills necessary to listen to their students and support them in presenting their ideas in class. Ultimately, Szekely challenges readers to focus the practice of art teaching on the student's creative process, rather than the teacher's presentation of art. Written for pre-service and in-service art educators, teacher educators, and researchers, Teaching to Support Children's Creativity and Artistic Independence demonstrates that an openness to youthful and inquisitive visual expression inspires a more rewarding learning experience for both teacher and child artists that can support a life-long love of art.

Free to Be Musical: Group Improvisation in Music is for those who lead musical experiences in the lives of children, youth, and adults. Offering a set of experiences to inspire creative musical expression, this book will prove useful for music education majors, practicing music teachers, community musicians, and music therapists alike. The experiences (or "events") are designed to reduce the musical barriers that Western societies pass on to children by the time they reach the "age of reason," when the natural childhood penchant to sing, dance, and play musically gives way to perfect performances of standard repertoire preserved in Western staff notation. The authors present ways to encourage music that is expressive and inventive, spontaneous yet thoughtful, communal and collaborative, and unlimited in its potential to bring fulfillment to those who make it. You'll find opportunities to release the musical imagination in ways that are free and expansive, playful and instructive, personal and interpersonal. Higgins and Campbell have created a context that validates the experiments and explorations of all people who are potential makers of all styles of music. Their musical events embrace the belief that music-making is "a trail of no mistakes," a celebration of the many and varied musical pathways that both teacher and student can take.

1) Focuses specifically on middle-schoolers 2) Offers a framework and structure for a Methods course, which places the student at the center rather than the musical genre or philosophy, precisely fitting with current thinking about teaching in music education 3) Features an integrated approach to research, not relying on any one philosophy and practical classroom applications 4) Includes practical applications in the form of lesson sequences, absent from the few books focused on middle-school education

Create a viable, meaningful program that will motivate your students and have them participating with enthusiasm with Middle School General Music: The Best Part of Your Day. A welcome guidebook for music teachers trying to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of middle school general music, it offers strategies and lessons that have been created in the real world of general music by a practicing teacher. Revised and expanded to align with the National Core Arts Standards, each section of this second edition is full of tips and lessons to help middle schoolers develop a life-long love of music. From instructional units to composition projects, rhythm games to listening lessons, you'll find plenty of ideas for working with young adolescents. An appendix of suggested resources steers you to materials appropriate for middle-level students. Bolster your program with the discussion about why general music is so vital in middle school. If your music classes feel like the perfect storm, let McAnally make them the best part of your day.

This volume will contain selected proceedings from the 2013 Symposium on Music Teacher Education, sponsored by NAfME's Society for Music Teacher Education and hosted at University of North Carolina. After an introduction written by SMTE Chair, Doug Orzolek, the initial chapter will represent the keynote address of the symposium by Karen Hammerness, Director of Program Research for the Bard Master of Arts in Teaching Program. Hammerness will bring her comparative work with music teacher educators in Finland and Norway to bear in her address: From Inspiring Visions to Everyday Practices: Exploring Vision and Practice in Music Teacher Education. Hammerness's research distills into three main themes. To mitigate against the fragmentation that characterizes so much of contemporary education, teacher education programs must: 1) promote a clear vision of teachers and teaching; 2) be coherent, reflecting shared understanding of teaching and learning among faculty and students; 3) be built around a strong, core curriculum that is deeply tied to the practices of teaching. These three themes will orient the remainder of chapters in the volume, which will come from invited primary presenters at the 2013 Symposium. Due to selectivity of blind peer review (twenty-one percent accept rate), these presentations represent the most rigorous research, and best practices grounded in research, that the music education profession has to offer.

Discover new and exciting ways to teach STEM content through the arts in your early childhood program with this innovative and comprehensive guidebook. Chapters feature playful activities divided by age band that bridge early academic learning and social, emotional, physical, and mental development with active engagement in the arts. Structured activities include a materials list, safety concerns, key takeaways, and related readings, as well as explicit connections to research and national standards. With clear and concise lesson plans that walk you through activities in music, dance, media arts, visual arts, and theater, it becomes easy to bring development and learning through movement and creativity to your classroom or program.

Every year, students clamber aboard the Hogwarts Express at platform nine and three-quarters and make their way to Hogwarts for the start of another school year. In the atmospheric castle and its vast grounds, they learn how to brew potions and cast spells, how to tend magical creatures and defend themselves from dark magic. This magical scrapbook takes young readers behind the scenes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, covering everything from how students arrive at the school and are sorted into houses to the many magical subjects they study while there. From Transfiguration to Divination, and from Herbology to Charms and Quidditch, we are transported into the world of Harry and his friends with detailed profiles of each subject and information about the professors, classrooms and key lessons seen in the films. Gorgeously illustrated with dazzling concept art, behind-the-scenes photographs, and fascinating reflections from the actors and filmmakers, the scrapbook gives readers a spellbinding tour of Hogwarts life. Destined to be a must-have collectable for fans of Harry Potter, Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook also comes packed with interactive inserts.

This volume will contain selected proceedings from the 2013 Symposium on Music Teacher Education, sponsored by NAfME's Society for Music Teacher Education and hosted at University of North Carolina. After an introduction written by SMTE Chair, Doug Orzolek, the initial chapter will represent the keynote address of the symposium by Karen Hammerness, Director of Program Research for the Bard Master of Arts in Teaching Program. Hammerness will bring her comparative work with music teacher educators in Finland and Norway to bear in her address: From Inspiring Visions to Everyday Practices: Exploring Vision and Practice in Music Teacher Education. Hammerness's research distills into three main themes. To mitigate against the fragmentation that characterizes so much of contemporary education, teacher education programs must: 1) promote a clear vision of teachers and teaching; 2) be coherent, reflecting shared understanding of teaching and learning among faculty and students; 3) be built around a strong, core curriculum that is deeply tied to the practices of teaching. These three themes will orient the remainder of chapters in the volume, which will come from invited primary presenters at the 2013 Symposium. Due to selectivity of blind peer review (twenty-one percent accept rate), these presentations represent the most rigorous research, and best practices grounded in research, that the music education profession has to offer.

Discover new and exciting ways to teach STEM content through the arts in your early childhood program with this innovative and comprehensive guidebook. Chapters feature playful activities divided by age band that bridge early academic learning and social, emotional, physical, and mental development with active engagement in the arts. Structured activities include a materials list, safety concerns, key takeaways, and related readings, as well as explicit connections to research and national standards. With clear and concise lesson plans that walk you through activities in music, dance, media arts, visual arts, and theater, it becomes easy to bring development and learning through movement and creativity to your classroom or program.

Find out all there is to know about your favourite creepy-crawlies with these exciting craft projects! Follow the step-by-step instructions to make spiders, beetles, dragonflies, termites and much more! You can even create displays for your classroom or at home. Each project uses materials that are easy to source, and you will be introduced to loads of craft techniques. The book also contains photos and facts about minibeasts.

Peek behind the curtain and find the Ballet Bunnies in this new full-color chapter book series featuring the most darling dancers you will ever meet! Miss Luisa's School of Dance is a magical place. There are dancers and music. . . and bunnies that talk and do ballet! No one knows the bunnies are there. Then, Millie arrives. She's new to ballet class and doesn't know all the moves. But when all the other dancers are gone, she discovers the Ballet Bunnies! They can help Millie find her dancing feet--so long as she can keep the Ballet Bunnies a secret! Don't miss the next act! Ballet Bunnies #2: Let's Dance

What values should form the foundation of music education? And once we decide on those values, how do we ensure we are acting on them? In Values and Music Education, esteemed author Estelle R. Jorgensen explores how values apply to the practice of music education. We may declare values, but they can be hard to see in action. Jorgensen examines nine quartets of related values and offers readers a roadmap for thinking constructively and critically about the values they hold. In doing so, she takes a broad view of both music and education while drawing on a wide sweep of multidisciplinary literature. Not only does Jorgensen demonstrate an analytical and dialectical philosophical approach to examining values, but she also seeks to show how theoretical and practical issues are interconnected. An important addition to the field of music education, Values and Music Education highlights values that have been forgotten or marginalized, underscores those that seem perennial, and illustrates how values can be double-edged swords.

Children will delight in learning how to write the alphabet alongside Todd Parr's vibrant art. D is for Dog...but it's wearing a pair of underwear! Each page will give the child several opportunities to trace and write the letter in upper and lowercase with silly pictures as reference. This sturdy board book includes wipe-clean pages and a wipe-clean marker with eraser that clips into the book.

Learn to teach music to children with MUSIC IN CHILDHOOD: MULTIMEDIA UPDATE, International Edition, an inspirational and informative text that features practical strategies, imaginative scenarios, and comprehensive examples to help students prepare for their careers in music education.

Countdown to Christmas in this gorgeous advent calendar featuring enchanting illustrations inspired by the Harry Potter films. Have a magical Christmas with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and all your other favourite characters from the Wizarding World in this official Harry Potter advent calendar. This gorgeous illustrated book unfolds to reveal 24 pockets - each with its own holiday surprise inside! From mini books and stickers to colouring sheets and holiday cards, there's something for everyone. Return to Hogwarts with this advent calendar inspired by the films The perfect gift for kids, collectors and Harry Potter fans of all ages! Includes mini books, stickers and more, for hours of fun.