Customer Reviews

Painting With Children

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This wonderful book is fundamentally academic (presents research and writings from Rudolf Steiner and Goethe; recommends poetry by Shakespeare and Wordsworth) yet warm and practical.

Brunhild Muller explains first the effect each color has on a child. This is because children experience color in a more vivid and emotional way than many of us. Most adults have lost what they knew about color as children, having been taught that what there is to know about a color is its name and nothing more. The seemingly simple task of preparing to paint is divided into five steps which are discussed in detail; tips for materials are also included. Later chapters give ideas for setting the stage for a painting experience -- such as stories, poetry, seasons, or the moods of nature. Innovative ways to introduce color mixing are also presented.

The entire theory of how children perceive color, and its ramifications for introducing painting, is well expressed. I found this book inspirational and would especially recommend it to any homeschooling parent.

When I was new to Waldorf, wet watercolor painting was one of the first practices I added to our family life. I bought this book as it is recommended by just about everyone in Waldorf. I was surprised by how incredibly short it is! The how-to section is NOT more detailed that what you can access for free online on various waldorf sites. I was able to correct some problems with my technique by trial and error and by asking questions on various yahoo groups, instead.

In my opinion this book's main contributions are showing color paintings created by children at various ages and including a very short collection of some nice seasonal poems that can inspire one's painting. Really, not as helpful as I had hoped!

As a Waldorfish homeschool mama to 6, I saw no reason to buy this book. We paint with watercolors all the time! Really, what more could I learn about painting? This book always came across my search for other Waldorf curriculum, but I didn't pay it any mind. Well, I was wrong. Last year, I saw it at a friend's house and looked through it. I was surprised at what I "wasn't" doing during out painting time! The introduction to colors and the stories was very neat to read about. I went back to the basics with my 3 youngest and changed the older kids projects. I did end up buying the book to have a copy at home. I prefer having a book as to trying to bookmark websites or printing endless pages that I will misplace or have the little ones color all over.

This book has lots of photos of kids paintings and philosophy on why kids should paint. I wanted directions. Here is how you do the wet on wet method. Here is how you tape the paper to the board. NOTHING.

a great resource for parents and art teachers.
inspiring paintings by young children. a must for anyone who wishes to start their children on a lifelong exploration of color. i'm an artist and father who found this book very helpful!

I wanted to love this book. I was sure that I needed to own before beginning my preschool since I am drawn toward Waldorf methods. It just wasn't that helpful and certainly not necessary to my library. It's short and small and most of the information you can find through internet searches.

So I didn't know how to begin... This book introduced me to all my children could be and gave me ideas to inspire more.

Have not gotten into the book to much but so far the book appears to be very well written and insightful. My husband and I are looking forward to sharing this with our children.