1. The Arts & Human Development
A+ Leadership Meetings
March 2014

2. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Read the CREDO from All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
Demonstrate the scribble art and let participants complete a scribble art on the back of the Five Domains Rubric while listening to music. Consider the thought – something very simple, can actually be quite complex.
Turn the rubric over and self-evaluate. Note the domains are organized around the learning of children, not the subjects.
“A+ made us teachers of children rather than teachers of subjects.” – Educator, Saluda

3. Five Domains of Learning
Approaches to Play and Learning
Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness
Play and Imagination
Risk-Taking, Problem-Solving, and Flexibility
Attentiveness, Effort, and Persistence
Emotional and Social Development
Developing a Sense of Self
Developing a Sense of Self With Others
Learning About Feelings
Health and Physical Development
Physical Health and Growth
Motor Development
Self-Care
Safety Awareness
Language Development and Communication
Learning to Communicate
Foundations for Reading
Foundations for Writing
Cognitive Development
Construction of Knowledge: Thinking and Reasoning
Creative Expression
Social Connections
Mathematical Thinking and Expression
Scientific Exploration and Knowledge
Five Domains of Learning
As young children learn and grow, each area of their development is interrelated and makes a contribution to how well they learn and master new skills. Their growth in the different domains – physical, emotional-social, approaches to play and learning, language, and cognitive – cannot be separated because progress in one area affects the progress they make in other areas of development.
- North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development, pg. 13

4. Philosophical Approaches
Child-Centered (Birth – K)
Discipline Centered (K-12)
Language Development & Communication
Cognitive Development
Health & Physical Growth
Emotional & Social Development
Approaches to Play & Learning
Math
Science
Social Studies
Arts Education
Physical Education
Language Arts

5. Bridging the Kindergarten Gap
Infants
Toddlers
Preschool K 1 2 3 4 5 6
National Association for the Education of Young Children X
NC Early Childhood Teacher Certification
NC Elementary Education Certification
NCDPI Office of Early Learning
“Schools serving upper-middle-class communities, in particular, are often pressed by parents to push down the content of the first and second grade into the kindergarten. It strikes me that just the reverse would be in order: the best features of the kindergarten should be extended into the first and second grades.” Eisner, Elliot W. (1996). Cognition and Curriculum Reconsidered, pg. 93

6. Approaches to Play & Learning Language & Communication
All I Really Need to Know [about Arts Integration] I Learned in Kindergarten
Cognitive
Physical
Social/Emotional
Approaches to Play & Learning
Language & Communication
Arts
There are some people who begin the Zoo at the beginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as they can past every cage until they get to the one called WAYOUT, but the nicest people go straight to the animal they love the most, and stay there. - A.A. Milne, The World of Pooh, pg. 3.
Go to the Animal you love the most!
Early Childhood (PK-3rd)
Elementary (2nd – 6th)
Middle Grades (6th – 8th)
High School (9th – 12th)
Racial, Ethnic, & Cultural Differences
Economically Disadvantaged
English Language Learners (ELL)
Exceptional Children (EC)
Academically & Intellectually Gifted (AIG)
What do we need to remember about Arts Integration for this special population? What can we extrapolate from the Five Domains of Learning and apply to this population?
It is widely accepted that arts experiences bolster development in multiple areas, and arts-based explorations are often seamlessly integrated into educational experiences for preschool and early elementary learners. – Child Development and Arts Education, College Board, 2012