Art
The Creative Collection: Inspiring Teaching Through the Arts
The Creative Collection is a thoughtfully curated set of 10 books designed to enrich early childhood education through the arts. At its core is the "threads of creativity" framework, which highlights the role of rich conversation and reflective practice in teaching. The introductory book establishes these foundational ideas, while each subsequent volume explores a different artistic medium—offering educators fresh perspectives and practical insights to reimagine their teaching.
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The ten books in the collection are:
Introduction, Drawing, Painting, Clay, Wire, Paper, Textiles, Light, Digital, and Open-Ended Materials.
Created by highly respected Australian early childhood educators and consultants Kelly Goodsir and Kirsty Liljegren, this collection challenges educators to bust open habitual ways of seeing materials and their uses—inviting us to step beyond the familiar and routine into a world of spacious possibilities. Each book is visually stunning, its evocative beauty urging us to pause, feel, listen, imagine, and dream.
Beyond being an invaluable professional resource, The Creative Collection carries educators into expanded understandings of creativity and the arts, positioning them at the heart of children’s—and teachers’—lives.
** Recommended by Kath Murdoch**
Key Highlights:
A curated set of 10 books designed to spark creativity in teaching.
Introduces the "threads of creativity" framework as a foundation for teaching through the arts.
Encourages rich conversations and reflective practice in education.
Explores various artistic mediums (e.g., drawing, painting, clay, textiles, digital tools).
Challenges educators to rethink how materials are used and to embrace new creative possibilities.
Supports educators in integrating artistic exploration into their teaching contexts.
10 Creative Ways to Upcycle Your Plastic Bottles
Check out these amazing environmental art projects that will help your students see plastic bottles in completely new ways. These 10 creative and easy projects will add a homemade touch to your classroom or your students' homes and raise reusing plastic bottles to a whole new level. (Click/Tap image to view ideas)
Art Reflection
Handout that covers the curriculum content of Kindergarten Visual Arts and Language Arts. Students are encouraged to express their feelings and the elements of Visual Arts either orally or on a piece of paper.
Created by Erin Jang, a Teacher Candidate in the UBC Teacher Education program, IB PYP cohort
Mother's Day Card
Try creating a beautiful heart flower Mother's Day Card.
OeigamiErinV01.mp4Kandinsky Inspired Mother's Day Art
This lesson introduces students to Wassily Kandinsky's concentric circles. Students learn about the brief history of expressionism and follow along with the video as they create their own Kandinsky inspired artwork for Mother's Day.
Dali Inspired Animal Art
This lesson introduces students to surrealism through Salvador Dali's art. Students learn about the brief history of Dali and follow along with the video as they create their own Dali inspired animal art.
Artists at Work
Here's a YouTube list of a variety of Artists at Work. These would work wonderfully as provocations or individual inquiries.
Densely Arranged Stone Gradients
Jon Foreman’s art works are breathtaking. Using natural materials, Foreman creates exquisite, ephemeral art works and photographs them. Kath Murdoch suggests, "These images would be powerful additions to provocations where children have access to natural materials or, even better, as an inspiration for art works with natural materials in situ – in the outdoors. The concepts embedded in many of these images would, in themselves, be the basis for some fascinating conversations. Use the images to explore scale, perspective, beauty, pattern, shape, design and even the ethics of using natural materials in this way."
