Episode 38: Beautiful Stuff
If you currently teach or have ever taught at the early childhood level, this episode is for you! The Creativity Department speaks with author and educator Cathy Topal about early childhood art education and the Reggio Emilia approach, a constructivist approach to teaching with an emphasis on self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments. Cathy discovered the Reggio approach early in her career and during this conversation shares the story of how it became her life’s work. Discover her strategies for guiding explorations of art materials, building community, approaching design with young children, and what she defines as an open-ended lesson. Listen in for inspiration that can be used with students across all grades.
Resources
During the Twitter chat and podcast discussion with Cathy Topal (@CathyTopal), several resources were shared. Following are the links she referenced during her interview and chat.
Read the Twitter Chat discussion.
Sites
Learn about Reggio Emilia
Thinking & Creating with a Line website
Books
Teacher’s Guide to Thinking with a Line
Explorations in Art Kindergarten
Creative Minds—Out of School
Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materials
Beautiful Stuff from Nature: More Learning with Found Materials
Children & Painting