CHLD 121: Art for Children

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Total Student Learning Hours: 162
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter, Pass/No Pass

Catalog Course Description

Students will gain knowledge of developmentally appropriate creative art activities and experiences beneficial during early childhood. Students will evaluate the benefits of creative art experiences and environments to children's physical, intellectual and social-emotional development. Students will design developmentally appropriate art curriculum and environments and explore ways to support creative thinking across the curriculum. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Analyze and design developmentally appropriate creative art curriculum.
  • Analyze and describe the stages of children's artistic development.
  • Analyze benefits of creative art and creative experience to young children's physical, intellectual and social-emotional development.
  • Evaluate the children's art program based on principles of child development theory and developmentally appropriate practice.
  • Compare and contrast open-ended and close-ended art and craft activities for the specific purpose of planning curriculum that facilitates creative thinking and expression in early childhood education.
  • Develop a parent education program that informs of the purpose of early childhood art curriculum and the importance of creativity art experiences.

Major Course Content

  1. Understanding Art and Creativity for Children
    1. Creative art and experiences for infants & toddlers, preschool and early school-age children
    2. Developmentally appropriate practice
    3. Curriculum planning
    4. Creative thinking and experiences across the early childhood curriculum
      1. Literacy and language
      2. Music and movement
      3. Science and experimentation
      4. Dramatic play
      5. Outdoor experiences
  2. Young Children as Artists
    1. Art and the developing child
    2. Benefits to Development
      1. Physical
      2. Intellectual
      3. Social-emotional
    3. Stages of children's artistic development
    4. Special needs
    5. Cultural Diversity
  3. Creative Art and Aesthetics
    1. Elements of art and sensory experiences
    2. The complete art program
    3. The value of the arts in society
  4. Creative Art Activities for Young Children
    1. Drawing materials
    2. Painting activities
    3. Printing
    4. Use of adhesives and scissors
    5. Collage, montage and textures
    6. Manipulative materials,
    7. Woodworking
    8. Three dimensional art
    9. Simple sewing and weaving
    10. Use of natural materials
    11. Crafts for young children
    12. The use of "art" technology
  5. Providing Creative Art Experiences
    1. Early childhood education focus
      1. Child centered vs. teacher directed
      2. Open ended vs. closed ended  
      3. Process vs. product  
      4. Play-based 
    2. The "art center"
    3. Displaying children’s art
    4. The Constructivist approach to art
  6. Roles and Strategies
    1. Responding in meaningful ways to children’s art 
    2. Strategies for helping to increase children's interest in participating in creative art activities
    3. Individualizing and responding to individual developmental needs
    4. Parent education program
    5. The portfolio and child development assessment
    6. Art therapy

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

1) Bongiorno, L. (2014, March). How Process-Focused Art Experiences Support Preschoolers. National Association for the Education of Young Children. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/feb2014/process-art-experiences

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Develop, write and document examples of developmentally appropriate creative art curriculum activities for use in early childhood education classrooms.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Observe, analyze and report about the developmental appropriateness of art curriculum and environments in early childhood education programs.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture