"I Smile With My Mind": Reconceptualizing Artistic Practice in Early Childhood

This study addresses the role of artistic practice as it exists in the lives of young children. Viewing children as unified learners ( Dewey, 1902 ; Franklin, 1994 ), the role of artistic practice is reconceptualized as a tool which children employ fluidly throughout their daily experiences, rather than as belonging to a discreet subject. The artistic practices of a group of 30 children aged 2 to 5 are documented through their narratives in the day-to-day activities of a preschool classroom. The close examination of these narratives illustrates the complex, nuanced ways in which young children employ artistic practice in order to navigate and shape the constructs of their daily lives.