
Free Play & the Arts
This is about how arts integration and STEAM offer similar benefits as free play to the creativity of children.
Holly Valentine is the Director of Curriculum and Assessment for the Institute for Arts Integration and Steam. Prior to joining the Institute, Holly worked as an Arts Integration and Classroom Teacher for 20 years in a suburb of Rochester, NY. She is a certified Arts Integration Specialist and has served as an Arts Standards Writer for the New York State Education Department. Holly has been a recipient of the NYC Broadway League's Apple Award for her work in Arts Education. She also serves as the Director of Education for the Rochester Broadway Theatre League, where she has created nationally recognized programs and develops standards-based curriculum for touring Broadway shows in order to bring the theatre to classrooms and classrooms to the theatre. Holly holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Psychology as well as a Masters degree in Education from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, where she currently lives.
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This is about how arts integration and STEAM offer similar benefits as free play to the creativity of children.

In the arts, the process is many times overshadowed by the product.

Microscopic art integrates the Elements of Art with scientific observation.

STEAM Design Challenges offer so many opportunities for hands-on learning and experimentation.

We all know that Project Based Learning can provide a deep and meaningful learning experience for students by allows the them to really drive their own learning.

Using visuals in the classroom is an easy way to get your students' minds going.

One of the best ways to build classroom community is by singing together.

What to do about the stress and anxiety of a new school year?

When a nearby art museum's program proved too cost prohibitive for one teacher's school, she took matters into her own hands and recreated the program with the help of the local high school.

Though we have curriculum to barrel through, nothing can get authentically accomplished if students are feeling insecure and preyed upon.

While doodling has carried negative connotations in the past, more and more research is showing the benefits of doodling.

Dot Day was started in 2009 as an effort to promote creativity, bravery, and self-expression.
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