Margaret Brooks

About this Book Drawing and art making are core to programming in early childhood. We know that children use the arts to make sense of their world. But do we know how this happens and how best we can support it? Art is a form of communication, a language. For young children who do not yet read and write it is a primary means of communication. But can we speak this language? Do we fully understand how the arts supports thinking and meaning making for young children? Much of early childhood practice rests on socio, cultural, historical theories. However, until now there has been no framework for the arts in early childhood that is congruent with these contemporary theories. This book effectively addresses this gap in the literature. It is a scholarly work that carefully unpacks the art making processes of young children from a Vygotskian perspective. It illustrates and demonstrates through stories and samples of children's art making processes, how drawing and the arts are a leading activity in the development of the child. It links theory to practice to empower educators to support the artistic development of young children. It demonstrates how art studio practices, when braided with socio, cultural, historical theories provide a powerful tool for learning.

This is the second edition of Authentic Art with Children. The book has been revised and reorganised to accommodate an extra chapter and QR code access to some instructional videos. This beautifully illustrated book is a 'hands on' practical guide that aims to fill those gaps in an educator's experiences with art making. As studio practices are unpacked and demonstrated the reader is invited to join in a journey through the same kinds of exploration, experimentation, practice and processes that artists engage in. For the past years many of my early childhood student teachers have struggled with the visual arts. There is a deeply ingrained belief that they cannot draw and are no good at art. This lack of self-efficacy is compounded by the lack of a strong contemporary theoretical framework for the visual arts in early childhood. The roles and rules for doing art with young children are not congruent with current practice. In confusion and frustration teachers turn to superficial and catchy activities that often have little to with art. This book tries to address both issues, first by providing practical guides that demonstrate how to use authentic art materials and provide real artistic experiences for children. Then by threading contemporary theory throughout with a strong focus on the role of the teacher.

Integrating Authentic Art gives educators the skills, tools, and understanding they need to support children's most authentic visual representations and speak the language of art. Weaving Vygotskian theory with practical art lessons, author Margaret Brooks proves that visual arts are critical to young children's development and that they build a foundation for current and lifelong learning and communication throughout all domains and curriculum areas. Teaching children to draw and use other art media gives them the tools to express themselves in many "languages" and shows them how deeply we respect their ideas. Doing art with children helps us see the world through their eyes.

Developing B2B Social Communities: Keys to Growth, Innovation, and Customer Loyalty explains why business-to-business companies need a robust online community strategy to survive and flourish in today’s changing economy and shows you how to design and execute your company’s strategy successfully. Seminars, publications, market research, and customer care centers remain important tools in every B2B firm’s toolbox for understanding, attracting, and serving customers while keeping them loyal. But in a world of fierce global price competition, increasing transparency of business practices, and ever-rising complexity, these traditional customer interaction channels are no longer enough for most B2B companies. That’s why smart organizations—both large and small—are tapping into online communities to gain a huge competitive advantage: the ability to get much closer to customers and become more valuable to them. Developing B2B Social Communities delves into the generators of business value in online communities: immediate customer access to expert information within the company and from other customers; inexpensive delivery of custom technical help; demonstrations of how customers can to get the most from their products; and forums where customers can share tips, air gripes, reveal unmet needs, and suggest improvements. Three veteran community managers show you how to harness the knowledge of the crowd to help shape your company’s strategic direction, develop new products and services, identify trends, sell more, serve customers more efficiently, and provide better product support. Fleshing out precepts with real-world examples and case studies, the authors detail the transformational opportunities—and pitfalls—for creating online communities.