Pelo's "The language of art: Inquiry-Based studio practices in early childhood settings" (Book Review)

Abstract

6 e art explorations that teachers offer children in the studio give them fluency with art media. e children then carry this fluency into their work and play in the classroom. Art spills out of the studio and into the fullness of children's lives as the language of art becomes the language of learning. Art can become a tool for investigating, asking questions, forming and testing theories, collaborating, and exploring an idea from a range of perspectives-art can grow a culture of inquiry in our early childhood programs. When teachers put children's inquiries at the heart of our classrooms, we organize our curriculum around teacher observation, study, and responsive planning. We pay close attention to children's play, taking notes and photographs, recording what we see and hear. We study our notes and photos to unearth the meanings in the children's play: What theories are the children exploring through their play? What questions are they asking? What relationships are they building? From our observation and study, we plan ways for the children to explore their theories, expand their questions, and strengthen their relationships. As we plan our offerings, we turn to the languages of art. What does this look like? Here's a glimpse into a classroom suffused in organic and substantive inquiry. ree children work together trying to build a really tall tower with wooden blocks. eir first couple attempts end with crashing implosions just as they cross the threshold from run-of-the-mill block tower to skyscraper. After the second failure, the children pause to regroup, debating why it fell and what they ought to do differently. e loud block fall and the children's exclamations have caught a teacher's attention. She moves near to the children's work and listens as they consider how they ought to proceed with their rebuilding. One child says that they should aim for the ceiling, stacking the blocks right on top of one another for sturdiness. Another child argues for caution, saying they ought to stop just shy of the height of the failed towers; the higher the tower goes, she argues, the more likely it is to collapse. e third child suggests a way to stabilize the tower by adding blocks to either side of the tall pinnacle, like support columns. Pelo, A. (2016). The language of art : Inquiry-based studio practices in early childhood settings. Redleaf Press.