Three 'Rs' for the Nineties I
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
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Endowment for the Arts, w generous
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johnE.Frohnmayer
Theatre & Education,
* American AllianceJ^ionai Conference,
mi0H \ , Dance Association,
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All young children love to play with words. They love to make
jokes and puns, sing songs, invent names and listen to and tell
stories. It is a short step from loving such language play to
loving writing.
You can help your child make that short but important step:
• Encourage your child's curiosity and imaginative play.
• Make reading an important part of your family life.
• Respect your child's interests in writing and reading.
• Suggest imaginative ways to write for school and for fun.
Preparing ^Kbur Child for Writing
Your family's attitudes and habits can make learning to write
natural and fun for your child rather than hard and frustrating.
You can lay a firm foundation for future writing by reading and
telling stories to your child; by letting your child know that you,
too, enjoy and learn from books; by respecting your child's
curiosity and imagination.
Reading and listening to stories help make writing easier.
Children who read or hear stories regularly develop a natural
understanding of how sentences, ideas and narratives work, and
so have a much easier time later when these skills are "taught" to
them in school. Reading can also make your child more eager to
write. Just as young sports fans long to go out onto the playing
fields, so children who love reading want to make up their own
stories and poems.
Here are three ways to prepare your child for writing:
1. Read aloud to your children, even when they are very little.
When you read aloud, children get not only a good story but also
a moment of intimacy with you that adds to their good feeling
about books and writing. Also, the fact that you take the trouble
to read shows that you respect the written word. Keep reading
aloud even after children can read on their own. You can read
more advanced books than your child is reading, or return to old
favorites together. As children listen, they come to see that
different kinds of writing have different effects on us.
2. Encourage children to read by taking them to the library.
Give books as presents. Be patient. Don't worry if at first your
child is interested only in comics. Children who enjoy reading
simple books will move on to more mature ones.
3. Answer your children's questions and listen to their stories.
If children think that you don't care about what they say, they
will not feel confident about expressing themselves, aloud or on
paper. Also, your explanations help them understand how to
organize their own thoughts.
Writing with children helps them learn to organize their ideas and
stories and to think of themselves as authors. Here are a jew ways to
have fun "writing' with children who can't yet write on their own.
"Tell me a story." Ask your child to tell you a stoiy. Write it
down as it is told. Don't worry if you are a slow writer. While
waiting for you to finish copying a line, your child will be think-
ing about what happens next in the story. If your child loses
track of the story, you can help by reading it back and by asking
questions like: "So then what happened?" or "What about the
bad pirate?" Be careful not to "steal" the story by making too
many suggestions. Children might take your contributions as
criticisms, and end up feeling as if they've failed.
The team story. This is a good party game. Ask your child and
some friends to form a circle and take turns making up one big
story together. If the children are shy, you can start it off. Keep
going until everyone has had a turn or the story feels finished,
then read it back with gusto. You'll be surprised by how much
fun this is.
Playtime. Young children spend much of their free time
pretending they are other people — superheroes, princesses,
astronauts. Creating a play is a natural literary form for children.
Have your child (perhaps with some friends) dictate a play or
story to you. When it is finished, the children can act it out.
Let them change the play as they act it out, if they wish.
"Publication." Just like adult authors, children write to
entertain themselves, but they also like to have other people
appreciate their work. There are many ways to "publish" your
children's writing. You can put it up on a bulletin board or the
refrigerator. You can type it, read it aloud, or photocopy it and
give it to family, friends and teachers. You can also make a
child's writing into little books (with illustrations by the author)
and keep them on a special shelf.
It is perfecdy all right to take dictation from your child even after
they can write on their own. As long as children enjoy the
experience, it is good for the development of their writing.
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Writing for School
Much of your child's writing will be done at school. One way to
help your child enjoy school writing is to take an interest in it.
Give special praise for those compositions based on imaginative
assignments — stories, poems, etc. — because these are the sort
your child is most likely to want to try doing independently.
If a child enjoys writing in school, provide the time and space at
home to continue writing and encourage imaginative
experiments. If your child is bored by school writing assignments,
try to find ways of making them more interesting. Say the assign-
ment is to answer the question "What is love?" One way of
answering is to be wacky: "Love is a school bus full of rutabagas."
Another is to be honest: "1 don't know what love is. Sometimes I
hate the people I am supposed to love...." Remember, many
teachers like surprising responses.
Writing at Home
Many children begin writing on their own at home simply because
it is fun. For some this is a natural outgrowth of writing with their
parents. Other children need encouragement.
The first thing you should do to encourage your child to write at home is
provide the basics that all writers need, young or old:
• The tools of the trade: paper, pencils and pens;
if possible a typewriter or computer.
• A place to write that is comfortable and quiet.
• Time enough not only to write but to look for inspiration by
daydreaming and letting the imagination wander.
You can make writing special by allowing your child to use your
desk, your typewriter or computer, or just your favorite pen. You
can fold several sheets of typing paper in half, staple the folded
edge, and say, "Here is an empty book, ready to be filled!"
Don't be pushy. Encouraging your child to write is a delicate
matter. Many children react to pressure by becoming afraid of
failure. Many children don't want to write because they're afraid of
making spelling mistakes. Tell children that when they write
poems and stories for themselves, they don't have to spell every-
thing right. Only when children are ready to revise or publish their
writing do they need to go over spelling, punctuation, etc. School
homework is a required activity for children, but writing poems and
stories at home ought to be voluntary — suggested only as a way of
having fun. Children will write a lot if they enjoy it.
If your children already like to write at home, it is probably best not to
meddle. Children will enjoy writing more if they feel that it is really their
own. But if they ask for help, or you see that they are running out of
inspiration, here are a few ideas you could try:
• Riddles. Ask your child to describe something without revealing
what the thing is. Example: "I come from a land where everything
is upside-down. 1 have a pocket but 1 don't wear clothes. I have
four legs but I don't walk. What am 1?" (Answer: a kangaroo.)
Writing riddles improves children's ability to describe accurately.
• Apologies. Suggest that your child write a series of apologies for
wild offenses. Example: "I'm sorry 1 told your mother that a pack
of meat-eating butterflies had eaten your litde sister, but I couldn't
think of anything else to say and I didn't know she'd believe me."
To make a surprising apology, your children will have to visualize a
situation vividly.
• Impossible day. Suggest that your child write a story about a day
when only impossible things happened. Example: "While my
father was riding his crayon, a camel flew in and kissed my mother
on the cheek." The more impossible, the better. The joy of this
type of story is that it invites children to search their minds for
startling words and combinations.
• First sentences. Help your child start a story by providing a first
sentence that sets up a strange or intriguing situation. For ex-
ample: "On Saturday morning I noticed a flower beginning to grow
out of the center of my forehead." Or, "When we reached the
mountaintop, we found a rope hanging from the sky." It takes
creative and connected thinking to make an attractive story out of
such ideas.
• Photostories. Suggest that children flip through a magazine until
they find an interesting photograph. Then, have them write a story
(without reading the caption or article) that describes what hap-
pened before, during and after the photograph was taken. This
idea also works well with paintings and family photographs,
particularly if they are of people or places the children have never
known. Whatever the subject matter, the story will help your
children think logically and creatively about events.
• Dialogues. Suggest that your child write a conversation between
two related objects, like a pencil and paper, a fork and meat, their
own feet and the sidewalk. How would it feel to be the floor? How
would it feel to be feet? Creating dialogues helps children think
about the ways objects or ideas are linked.
Your response to your children's writing is all-important If you are
proud of what they have written at home or at school, they will also be
proud and will want to do more. If you are indifferent or too critical,
they will find writing much more difficult.
• First point out what you like in your child's writing. Praising
children's strengths is a much more effective way of helping them
to write well than pointing out weaknesses. You can always
find something to praise. Be specific and honest. If you praise
everything uniformly, your praise will lose its effect.
• Be very gende with your criticisms, especially with beginning
writers. Always introduce your concerns after some praise.
Remember that your main purpose is not to rum the child into a
Shakespeare, but to encourage the child to enjoy writing. As long
as children keep writing, they will improve.
• Praise what is unique or unexpected in your child's work, even
if it seems a bit out of place, for it is in such unconventional parts
that children are often truest to their own way of seeing things.
If children feel free to be "different," they are much more likely to
value writing as a mode of genuine self-expression.
• Don't worry if your child wants to write only about super-
heroes or puppies. A child who enjoys writing will inevitably
move on to other topics.
Teachers & Writers Collaborative was founded by a
group of writers and educators in 1967 to send writers into
schools and to publish and distribute materials about teaching
writing. T&W writers work with children and teachers, giving
them an understanding and appreciation of literary traditions and a sense of
the methods and motives of writers. T&W houses the Center for Imaginative
Writing, a resource library and meeting place. For more information write:
Teachers and Writers Collaborative
5 Union Square West, New York, New York 10003
Stephen O'Connor and William Bryant Logan developed this brochure.
*
The National Endowment for the Arts, an
independent federal agency, was founded by Congress in
1965 to foster excellence in the arts throughout the United
States, to help broaden the publics understanding of the arts and
provide broader access to the nation's rich cultural resources. NEA's
Arts in Education Program focuses on increasing and improving arts
programs in the nation's schools. For more information write: Arts in
Education, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20506
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Dance is essential to
general education for
boys and girls. Dance
education beginning
in early childhood
and continuing
throughout life
benefits the body,
mind and spirit.
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Dance education has many benefits:
• Physical. Dance helps to increase flexibility, improve
circulation, tone the body and develop muscles. It also im-
proves posture, balance and coordination.
• Intellectual. Dance enriches learning through a variety of
perspectives, both traditional and experimental.
• Esthetic. Dance awakens consciousness of beauty, lending
new meaning to movement and form.
• Cultural. Dance increases understanding and appreciation for
forms, choices and rituals from a broad range of historical, social
and cultural perspectives.
• Emotional. Dance helps develop self-confidence and self-
esteem in a stimulating environment.
• Social. Dance improves sensitivity, understanding, apprecia-
tion and consideration for others, both for their similarities and
differences.
Dance Engages the Whole Person
Although dance can be great exercise, it is primarily an artfonn and
an esthetic expression ojmind and body. Dance as an art form has
three dimensions:
• Learning. Like other art forms, dance helps us to perceive
and communicate who we are.
• Knowledge. Dance has its own body of knowledge which can
be shared, passed on and enlarged.
• Experience. The very nature of dance is best discovered
through experiencing it. In this it is almost unique as an art
form, and very special as part of a child's education.
By combining these three dimensions, dance engages the whole
person in simultaneously moving, thinking and feeling. Thus
dance education can enhance your child's physical, mental and
emotional development. This holds for boys and girls alike.
For young children, dance offers avenues for exploration,
discovery and the development of natural instincts for move-
ment. Dance activities offer many benefits for children, encour-
aging mental and emotional development as well as obviously
enhancing motor skills.
Dancing gives the young child a chance to experience and
understand both personal and social perspectives in a stimulat-
ing situation. Dancing offers opportunities to express thoughts
and feelings and to understand other's thoughts and feelings.
The dynamic balance of dance's physical, mental and emotional
aspects should be present in dance education, regardless of
whether the child plans to pursue a career in dance. As in other
arts disciplines, professional preparation in dance demands
years of rigorous education, training and practice.
What you can do to get your child started in dance
As a parent, you can offer your child early exposure to the art of
dance and movement through many activities:
• Encourage your child to experience movement Ask ques-
tions like "How many ways can you balance yourself besides
standing?" and "How many different ways can you move your
head (arms, leg, upper body)?" Questions like these will help
your child become aware of his body and its relationship to
other people and the environment.
• Provide a place and times for your child to explore and
invent movement Have her tell a story by acting it out with
body movements. Or, ask him to move with different types of
walks (downhill, on parade, stiff, up stairs) or to pretend to use
different kinds of vehicles (bicycle, skateboard, car, horse, etc.).
• Encourage the child to relate movement to rhythm. This can
be as simple as getting a child to clap, rock or hop to music or a
rhythmic beat. Your child may also enjoy moving or dancing to
familiar songs and nursery rhymes. The goal is to get the child
to experience movement as it relates to music or rhythm.
• Allow the child to experiment with basic movements. Walk-
ing, running, jumping, skipping and such are basic locomotor
movements. Bending, stretching, twisting and swinging are
non-locomotor movements. By varying the size, level and
direction of these basics, children discover a large number of
movements which can be combined to form basic dance steps.
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educators and teacher organizations increasingly recognize
creative movement as integral to children's development, and
there are a number of exemplary dance education programs in
elementary schools. But unfortunately, well-balanced dance
programs are not found consistently in our schools today. As a
parent you can do two things to ensure good dance education
for your child.
First, look into the situation in your school and school district.
Find what importance is given to dance and advocate making it
a high priority. Second, look into private instruction in studios,
community centers, parks* and recreation programs, summer
camps and other enterprises such as YWCAs.
In both cases, assure yourself that a dance program is appropri-
ate for your child's physical and social development and that it
is educationally sound. The following information may help
you review the dance instruction in your local school, private
studio or other setting.
Evaluating Teachers and Classes
Ask the following questions about the teacheris) who might instruct
your child. In an ideal situation all the answers will he yes:
• Can I observe the class before enrolling my child?
• Does the teacher seem aware of the physical, emotional and
social development and needs of the students?
• Does the teacher seem enthusiastic about the work?
• Is the teacher supportive of each student's abilities, potential
and goals?
• Does the teacher use imaginative, varied and interesting
approaches to the material being taught?
• Is the teacher well trained and qualified?
• Does the teacher seem well prepared and able to effectively
communicate his or her knowledge?
• Is the teacher familiar with human anatomy and the proper
use of the body?
In the same spirit, ask these questions about the classes:
• Are the students grouped according to age, physical abilities
and social development?
• Are class and time allotments appropriate for the age group?
• Does the teacher give time for movement exploration?
• Does the class provide satisfaction and enjoyment?
• Is required attire appropriate and comfortable?
The following class sizes and durations are suggested:
Ages 3-5 7-15 students 30-45 minutes
Ages 6-8 20 students 45-60 minutes
Ages 9-12 25 students 60-90 minutes
Facilities
A good place for dance classes offers the following:
• A space that is clean, well ventilated, well lit and free of
obstructions.
• A floor that is resilient and well maintained. (A suspended
wood floor is best to avoid physical stress, but certain treatments
over cement and tile can accommodate dance that does not
include a great deal of landing from jumps.)
• Floor space that is adequate for the class size and the age
of the participants, ideally 100 square feet per student.
• Adequate space for changing clothes.
• Access to drinking water and restrooms.
Other Considerations
• Dance class should not over-stress the body.
• Major portions of the class should not be devoted to
performances or preparing for recitals.
• Dance for children should concentrate on individualization,
creativity and movement exploration.
• Formal instruction in specific dance forms should not begin
before age 7 or 8 depending on the development of the child and
previous experience.
• Pointe work (ballet dancing on "toe'1) should not begin before
there is well -developed body coordination, adequate strength,
proper skeletal alignment and working body placement. Special
attention must be given to the development of the feet, legs and
back. Very few children should start pointe work before age 11.
For more information, you may want to consult the following books:
Jacob, Ellen. (1981). Dancing: A Guide to the Dancer You Can Be.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Loren, Ten. (1978). Dancer's Companion. New York:
The Dial Press.
These pamphlets may be purchased from the
National Dance Association:
DANCE: A Career for You .
Dance Curricula Guidelines K-12
Dance Education - What Is It? Why Is It Important?
Guide to Creative Dance for the Young Child
Dance Scholarship Directory
Dance Resource Guide
Stinson, Susan. Dance for the Young Child.
Children's Dance.
#
The National Dance Association represents
practitioners of every aspect of dance and dance education in
the United States and abroad. Through publications,
symposia, workshops and resource papers, NDA promotes
quality dance and dance education for all levels, populations,
ages and cultures.
National Dance Association
1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091-1502
Tel: 703/476-3436 Fax: 703/476-9527
The National Endowment for the Arts, an
independent federal agency, was founded by Congress in
1965 to foster excellence in the arts throughout the United
States, to help broaden the publics understanding of the
arts and provide broader access to the nation's rich
cultural resources. NEA's Arts in Education Program
focuses on increasing and improving arts programs in the
nation's schools. Eor more information write: Arts in
Education, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20506
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The visual arts interpret and reflect
life. Through studying art, children
gain valuable insights about the world
along with knowledge and skills they
can use throughout their lives.
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Art education — appreciation courses, hands-on art classes,
museum visits and parent-assisted activities — helps children
develop their own creative skills and understand the artistic
work of others. By encouraging visual arts education, you will
help your children to:
• respond to what they see in art and in the world around them;
• perceive and grasp relationships in their environment;
• think creatively while developing skills in drawing, painting,
sculpting, designing, crafting, etc;
• gain manipulative and organizing skills through their own
creative work;
• learn about humankind's vast cultural heritage;
• understand the nature of art and the creative process;
• make informed esthetic judgments about art.
To educate children, parents along with teachers and museum
professionals must keep in mind each student's interests as well
as his intellectual, social and esthetic maturity. The instruction
should be interesting in order to stimulate intellectual growth.
Not all activities should get the same emphasis at each age or for
each student. Find opportunities that allow your child to:
• Take close looks at both natural and cultural
objects of many kinds.
• Find outlets for expressing perceptions and feelings through a
variety of art forms suited to the child's abilities and preferences.
• Experiment with different materials and methods in order to
understand their different properties.
• Evaluate and review the child's work so that the youngster
gains understanding of formal structure and the potential for
developing line, form, color, shape and texture.
• Read about, look at, and discuss works of art from other past
and modern cultures; to do this, use different educational,
media and community resources.
• Evaluate the child's works of art as well as those of artists past
and present.
• See artists and designers at work in classroom and museum
demonstrations, on film and video.
• Engage in arts activities — museum visits, tours of art schools,
participation in art classes — to apply new knowledge the child
has gained.
You, Your Child and the Visual Arts
Here are activities you can use to introduce your child to the
world of art. Remember that your own attitudes make strong
impressions on your child. A sense of openness to the visual
arts of diverse cultures, along with a willingness to ask questions
about art, are as important for you as for the child.
At Home and About Town
"Seeing" versus looking is something you can encourage every
day. Teach your child to see colors, shapes and textures in the
world at large. Help your child recognize and understand the
signs and symbols that abound in our lives. Make a game out of
identifying elements of art as you ride in the car or take family
walks. You will discover art all around: in local architecture,
monuments, billboards, a park's design, the patterns of streets
and signs as well as in traditional arts and crafts.
Encourage your child to react to visual stimuli — colors, shapes,
sizes, textures and materials — found in art dealing with a wide
range of situations and subjects. Some will be more engaging
than others. Children generally prefer bright colors, realism and
familiar subject matter.
To help get children involved:
• Find a wall at home that your children can use to display
reproductions or original art that they have created. Or set up
an exhibition in an "art corner."
• Provide a space in which your child can explore different
media such as paints, crayons and clay. (Pick an easy-to-clean
space and dress in washables.)
• Make available various two- and three-dimensional materials:
paper to cut-and-paste, blocks to build.
• Ask the art teacher at school about appropriate materials for
your child at different development levels.
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To keep interest alive:
• Encourage and compliment your child's creative efforts. Ask
the youngster to tell you about the art. Do NOT say what you
think is "wrong" with it or how you think it should be done.
• Remind yourself that complex and fine motor skills take time
to develop. Offer experiences that strengthen skills already
learned. Provide materials and tools that broaden the range of
creativity.
• Remember that many children paint and draw for no other
reason than the pleasure it gives them. These activities can be
easily fostered.
At the Museum, Gallery or Arts Center
Planned in advance, a visit to a local art center, gallery or
museum can be rewarding, exciting and stimulating for both
parent and child. Your state arts agency or local council can
provide information about art exhibitions — where they are,
and what there is to see. Ask about programs designed for
children and about parent-and-child events.
Take time to plan your visit so that it meets your child's
physical and learning needs. Identify in advance the exhibit
areas and art works you wish to see. Learn where benches,
restrooms and cafeterias are located.
Don't overwhelm or tire children by overdoing it. If you are
visiting a large museum, stay in two or three galleries, depend-
ing on the child's age and abilities. A number of short visits
are better than a long one that is overwhelming.
By listening carefully to your child before planning a trip, you
will learn what things he or she is most interested in seeing.
Remember to meet a child's physical need for movement and
change while engaged in "seeing and appreciating." If a child
expresses interest in a work of art you did not select, spend
time with it. Children may get frustrated at having to view art
selected for them, rather than what they choose for themselves.
Younger children have both a shorter attention span and lower
level of retention. For the very young, pictures and drawings
in books can spark interest in the visual arts and you can build
from there. It is a good idea to have children view works of art
on several occasions. They will remember some vividly, while
a second visit and talking about the works will reinforce first
impressions.
Also, it is good to encourage children to respond to pictures,
sculptures and crafts in their own way. Resist the urge to tell
them what they should see, feel or think. After a first experi-
ence, you can discuss the art, listening to the child's
interpretation. Then share information you have about the
work, the artist who made it, and how it was achieved. The
facts you want to share should be appealing and easy to
understand.
A Word of Warning: At the first sign of boredom, fatigue or
disinterest, take a rest or quit for the day!
More suggestions for making the arts enjoyable:
• Museum shops sell postcards, posters of art works and
books about art and artists written especially for children.
Your child may want to buy a book or reproduction of a
particular favorite.
• Emphasize what the child understands and learns. Make
connections with what he already knows. Ask what she is
studying in school that relates to pictures you saw. Tie your
"seeing" experiences into those subjects.
Special Art Classes
To get professional arts training for your child, check with
your school's art teacher, or with your local or state arts agency
for the names of qualified instructors and schools.
For more information about how to offer your child learning
opportunities in art, consult the following pamphlets and hooks:
Purposes, Principles, and Standards for School Art Programs.
National Art Education Association, 1916 Association Drive,
Reston,VA 22091.
Beyond Creating: The Place for Art in Americas Schools. J. Paul
Getty Center for Education in the Arts, 401 Wilshire Boulevard,
Suite 950, Santa Monica, CA 90401
The Role of Imagery in Learning by Harry S. Broudy.
Getty Center for Education in the Arts.
Art Education and Human Development by Howard Gardner.
Getty Center for Education in the Arts.
Looking at Paintings by Susan Woodford, Cambridge University
Press, 1983.
Art Appreciation for the Popsicle Generation by Lauann Brown,
Good Apple, Inc. 1948.
Children and Their Art by Charles D. Gaitskill and Al Hurwitz,
Harcourt Brace Javanovich, 1982.
Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and
Middle Schools by Frank Wachowiak, Harper and Row, 1985.
Creative and Mental Growth by Victor Lowenfeld and W.
Lambert Brittain, Macmillan, 1987.
The National Art Education Association, founded in
|JD 1947, is the largest professional art education association in
the world. Members include elementary and secondary
teachers, artists, administrators, museum educators, art
council staff members and university professors throughout the United
States and 66 foreign countries. NAEA's mission is to advance art
education through professional development, service, advancement of
knowledge and leadership. For information write: NAEA, 1916
Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091
St
The National Endowment for the Arts, an
independent federal agency, was founded by Congress in
1 965 to foster excellence in the arts throughout the United
States, to help broaden the public's understanding of the arts and
provide broader access to the nations rich cultural resources. NEA's
Arts in Education Program focuses on increasing and improving arts
programs in the nations schools. For more information write:
National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C. 20506
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Why should your child study
music? From elementary
school onwards, music
study helps children acquire
knowledge, skills and
attitudes that influence them
throughout their lives.
In addition to learning music
for its own sake, children
who participate in music
learn coordination, goal-
setting, concentration and
cooperation.
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As a parent, you can encourage your child's love of music and
nurture his or her musical talents in a number of ways: By
listening to good music programs and recordings together, by
attending musical events and making music as a family, by
praising children for their musical activities and accomplish-
ments. As a result of music-listening and music-making experi-
ences, elementary school children can become better listeners
and develop musical intelligence. They also develop pride and
a sense of accomplishment as young musicians.
Suggested Activities
Listening to music, moving to music and playing musical games
are best for small children and good for elementary students as
well. By ages five to eight, many children are ready for one-on-
one music lessons. You can help your child choose an instru-
ment by consulting the school music teacher and by noticing
what sounds your child most enjoys while listening to music.
If you decide to supplement lessons offered at the school with
private lessons, you can find a good teacher by asking the school
music teacher or the music faculty at a local university for
recommendations .
Group classes are particularly supportive for young children.
In the early stages, a parent should be in the room with the
child during at-home practice periods to offer encouragement
and praise and to request specific songs ("That was really good!
Would you play it again for me?") It is impossible to give any
child too much encouragement. Success at music-making
bolsters self-esteem.
When To Start
• Children can begin piano lessons whenever they can
sit on a piano bench and concentrate.
• Stringed-instrument study can begin very early
(if scaled-down instruments are used) —
preferably by grade four.
• Study on wind instruments should begin by grade five.
You can invest in your child's future by ensuring that your
school has good music programs, taught by certified music
specialists in general music, instrumental music and choral
instruction from pre-kindergarten through high school.
What to Look For in Elementary School
• Opportunities for all students: to sing, move to music, and
learn to play classroom instruments; to develop skills in per-
forming, reading, creating, listening to and describing music; to
learn to use music vocabulary and read and write music nota-
tion; to develop enjoyment of and sensitivities to music; to
explore music from a variety of cultures.
• Opportunities for students to participate in both choral and
instrumental music starting in grade four.
• Special experiences for gifted and handicapped students.
• Instruction by certified music educators supplemented by
classroom teachers.
• Adequate textbooks, printed music, instruments, equipment,
recordings and other music materials.
• Music rooms that have adequate space, ventilation and light
as well as access to a good piano, risers, audiovisual equipment
and a good sound system.
Students in grades one through three should learn to enjoy and
explore music. By the end of grade three, students should
realize that music is an important part of everyday life and be
able to perform and create it. They should be able to use music
as a means of individual expression and to listen to the creations
of other people with respect, curiosity and pleasure.
Students in grades four through six should build on the skills
they developed earlier. By the end of grade six, they should be
able to participate in music activities by singing and playing
instruments. They should enjoy listening to most types of
music, and be able to describe musical works and discuss their
personal responses to them.
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At every age, your child should have regular opportunities to:
• hear, sing or play music with and for family and friends
in a relaxed setting.
• take part in community music events that relate directly to
the child's own culture and that involve distinctly different
cultures.
• join you in watching music and arts programs on televi-
sion. (To make the most of these experiences, ask your child
questions about the program afterward — not during the
performance.)
How to Make Your Child's life Musical
• Encourage your child to participate in general music
classes and performing ensembles.
• When school offers band or string instrument instruction,
help your child choose an instrument.
• Visit the classroom to gain a better understanding of what
takes place in the music program.
• Volunteer to chaperon trips to music events and work to
bring outstanding performers to your child's school.
• Attend concerts with your child.
• Help with home practice and set scheduled practice times.
Set up a well-lit, quiet practice area free from distractions.
Ask your child to play for you and others, and give sincere
and frequent praise. Do not be overly critical; the music
teacher will correct problems. Listen and show enthusiasm
for your child's efforts and achievements.
The following publications provide more detailed information.
Growing Up Complete: The Imperative for Music Education. Report
of the National Commission on Music Education, 1991. $7.95
Action Kit for Music Education. This includes two books includ-
ing Building Support for School Music, two videotapes; and four
brochures to help conduct a local advocacy campaign. 1991.
$37.50.
The School Music Program: Description and Standards. Guidelines
for music curricula, K to 12. $10.50.
Music in Today's Schools: Rationale and Commentary. A concise
explanation of why music is important in every child's
education. $4.00.
Guidelines for Performances of School Music Groups: Expectations
and Limitations. $7.50.
These publications are available from:
Music Educators National Conference
1902 Association Drive
Reston, Virginia 22091
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S0N3IAI
2 The Music Educators National Conference (MENC)
is the only national association that addresses all aspects of
music education: hand, chorus, orchestra, general music,
teacher education and research. More than 60,000 members
represent all levels of teaching from pre-kindergarten to
postdoctoral levels. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure
that every student has access to a well-balanced and compre-
hensive school music program.
The National Endowment for the Arts, an
independent federal agency, was founded by Congress in
1965 to foster excellence in the arts throughout the United
States, to help broaden the publics understanding of the
arts and provide broader access to the nations rich
cultural resources. NEA's Arts in Education Program
focuses on increasing and improving arts programs in the
nations schools. For more information write: Arts in
Education, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20506
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Children of all ages love to pretend,
to enter worlds of the imagination.
As toddlers, they mimic things they
see in everyday life. By elementary
school age, they act out stories,
creating original plots or adapting
fairy tales and real-life events. By
middle school they're ready for more
formal play-acting: going on stage to
present prepared scripts, whether
scenes from the classics or their own
inventions. In other words, each
stage of childhood has its own forms
of drama, and all these forms help
children grow and learn.
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(children enter the world of make-believe first as toddlers when
they discover the soul of theater by engaging in activities they see
around them and by putting themselves in the places of others.
This activity involves mind, body and imagination. It is dramatic
play, what one educator calls "rehearsal for life." An extension of
ordinary play, creative play — the root of theater — is essential to a
child's full development.
As children grow older, their play develops structure. They act
out favorite stories, create original situations from life experi-
ences, and imagine themselves in fantasy worlds where anything
is possible. If they are encouraged in this kind of play at home,
they become ready for creative drama by the time they enter
primary school. As essential as dramatic play is to a child's
healthy development, creative drama is an art form, a socializing
activity and a means of learning. At this point, guidance by an
experienced teacher or leader is needed, someone to guide the
drama, to help the young players deepen their experiences and
express themselves more effectively.
Creative drama is not acting as adults think of it. It requires no
script or memorized lines. It is improvised and centers on
children as the participants. Older children often want to extend
the process and present their work for an audience. This is fine,
so long as the desire to "go public" comes from them, for it is the
process rather than the product that is important for youngsters.
In middle school or junior high, many children become ready for
what most people think of as the "theater arts" which involve a
stage, actors and a play. This implies theater's formal elements:
acting, directing, scene and costume design, as well as technical
concerns such as stage management, set building, lighting,
publicity, etc.
Besides creating theater in its many forms, children also benefit
from seeing it. Children's theater, comprising an ever-growing
diversity of companies and scripts, is an excellent introduction to
lifelong enjoyment of theater.
For young children the theater arts are best used informally and
playfully. This offers pre-kindergarten and elementary-age
children opportunities to make theater that is a natural extension
of their physical, intellectual and emotional lives. Creative drama
builds on the universal human desire to understand our world
by imitating and reenacting it.
As a parent, you can help your child enjoy dramatic play, even if
you have had no theater background or experience. First of all,
you can encourage your child to play. Enter into the game, taking cues
as to your role. For example, your daughter may want you to be a
storekeeper or a customer, a doctor or a patient, a bus driver or
passenger, depending on which character she wants to be. Provide a
place for creative drama. This could be a corner of the child's room
where toys are kept. "Props" can be simple and commonplace. For
instance, a scarf can become a shawl, a sash or any number of things.
Hats can denote different characters. Baskets, bags and plastic
dishes are all useful props.
Dramatic play need not be confined to one space, for it is
spontaneous and the impulse to enact a character or imitate an
action is rarely planned in advance. Chances are it will be brief and
fragmentary, although as children grow older the game becomes
longer and more detailed. Favorite stories and activities are often
repeated, but even with repetition new ideas are constantly gener-
ated, thus fostering continued imaginative growth for the children.
Read aloud and tell stories. Good literature suggests many
possibilities and discourages a tendency to imitate situations seen on
television. However, many ideas may come from real life issues, even
for very young children.
Finally, enjoy these spontaneous moments. Remember that they are
the child's first engagement with an art form and can lead to lifelong
pleasure. You are not encouraging a career in the theater; you are
helping in the development of a human being through this most
human of the arts, the theater.
What Does Creative Drama Offer to Young Children?
Creative drama provides many benefits, among them:
• Development of imagination and esthetic awareness
• Independent and critical thinking
• Social growth and the ability to work with others
• Improved communication skills
• Healthy release of emotion
• Knowledge of self
• Fun and recreation
• An introduction to the theater
What Do You, as a Parent, Get Out of It?
Creative drama offers benefits for parents too:
• Quality time spent with your young child in creative moments.
• Valuable insights into the observations, impressions, interests,
fears and humor that your child reveals.
• Fun! You can both enjoy dramatic play for the pure fun of it.
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Because creative drama is a group activity requiring skilled leader-
ship, you should check with your child's teacher or principal to see
whether it is already part of the school program. It may be that
you will want to look further to find opportunities in your commu-
nity for classes in the performing arts. While many schools are
now adding theater to the curriculum, unfortunately it is absent in
most elementary schools. Therefore, you should look for available
resources in the following places:
• Community centers and city and county recreation
departments.
• Libraries, museums, churches, playgrounds and camps,
; YMCAsandYWCAs.
• Local colleges and universities for year-round or summer
" classes for children.
• Performing arts centers, professional and community theaters.
Many facilities have splendid programs in the arts. Visit classes,
check the age levels of the children and the preparation of the
teachers. Classes in creative drama, puppetry, mime and dance
offer enrichment beyond whatever the school provides. Again, for
the young child, the chance to explore creatively and act spontane-
ously is more valuable than pressured situations involving either a
performance for an audience or a predetermined product.
While creative drama involves children as active participants,
children's theater engages them as audience. Plays range from
entertainment for the primary grades to more mature material
designed for junior high school. Many adult plays can be enjoyed
by older teenagers and (depending on the subject matter and the
style of the production) by younger audiences as well.
Children's theater companies should be checked carefully before
taking a child to a performance or engaging a company for a
school assembly. Many plays are over-simplified for the very
young, with occasional lines aimed at die adults in the audience;
this is a condescending practice and children are quick to perceive
it. Some good sources of information about children's theater
companies are: theater departments of colleges and universities;
newspaper reviews, if available; local or state arts councils; the
American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). In addition,
many regional arts agencies support touring theaters for children
and young audiences. Your state arts council can put you in touch
with the regional organization for your area.
Going to the theater has many benefits for children, among them:
• Appreciation of theater as an esthetic experience.
• Increased awareness of social and cultural values.
• Sharing in a communal art form.
• Increased knowledge of history and human events.
Elements of a Good Production
By attending children's theater regularly, both parent and child
gain personal likes and dislikes and can grasp what is an excellent
production as opposed to one that is poor or merely competent.
If you have not attended children's theater regularly, here are
some elements that characterize a good production, along with
some questions concerning each element. Not every criterion will
apply to every production.
• A Good Story: Children's theater today is wide-ranging,
offering plays from traditional fairy tales to homelessness and drug
abuse. Whatever the topic, a good production will clarify its
subject. Did you leam something new or gain a new insight
through the play?
• Credible Characters: A "willing suspension of disbelief is
necessary for viewing theater, but the characters should be
believable. Did actions seem totally out-of-character for someone
in the play? If so, did you lose interest in the action?
• Excellent Performance Skills (acting, dance, music, and any
other skills called for such as juggling, fencing, etc.): Do the skills
support the believability of the characters? Are they at a level
befitting the expectations of the actors, both in terms of the
amateur or professional status of the company and the actions of
the characters?
• Effective Visual Elements: Do scenery, costumes, and
lighting help transport you to the place and time of the play? Are
they visually appealing? In cases where scenery and lighting are
minimal or absent, did the production stimulate your imagination
in other effective ways?
• Challenging Ideas: A good script can provoke thought, bring
new ideas to light, perhaps help you look at a facet of life in a
new or different way. Ask your child what he or she got from a
performance. Try open-ended questions such as: What did you
see on the stage? What was a particular character trying to do?
What happened at the very beginning? The discussion you are
likely to have may surprise you.
• Insight into Other Cultures: Theater can take us in time and
place to other communities and cultures. Did the production
help you to learn about cultural or ethnic traditions? If the play
was in the present time, were there characters of culturally diverse
backgrounds reflecting contemporary society?
• Strong Emotional Response and Involvement in the Plot:
Were you moved by the action of the play? Tears or laughter are
sure signs that the playwright and actors reached you. While
emotions can't always be verbalized, a discussion with your child
about his or her feelings about what happened can benefit both of you.
Children's theater includes a wide range of subject matter: folk
and fairy tales; contemporary social issues, adventure stories;
historical and biographical dramas. The form may be the straight
dramatic play, the musical, documentary, or movement theater.
In every case, however, the story line or theme should be clear
and honesdy presented and the production should be enjoyable.
The American Alliance for Theatre & Education: Artists &
Educators Serving Young People, a professional organization,
promotes the highest standards of excellence in drama and theater
education for children and youth. We provide the theater educator
and theater artist with a network of resources and support, a base
for advocacy, and programs and projects that focus on the impor-
tance of drama in the human experience. For more information,
contact:
American Alliance for Theatre & Education
Department of Theatre
Arizona State University
Tempe,AZ 85287
The National Endowment for the Arts, an independent
federal agency, was founded by Congress in 1965 to foster
excellence in the arts throughout the United States, to help
broaden the public's understanding of the arts and provide
broader access to the nations rich cultural resources. NEA's
Arts in Education Program focuses on increasing and improving
arts programs in the nation's schools. For more information
write: Arts in Education, National Endowment for the Arts,
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20506
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