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The visual arts can be an important and rich domain of learning for young children. In PreK education, The Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight (Young children and the arts: Making creative connections, Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 1998) recommends that art experiences for young children include activities designed to introduce children to works of art that are high quality and developmentally appropriate in both content and presentation. This paper documents the teaching strategies utilized by a master art teacher at the Denver Art Museum to engage preschool-age students in art viewing experiences which were part of a museum-based art program. This research provides support for integrating rich, meaningful art viewing experiences as a regular part of young children's arts experiences while offering early childhood educators teaching strategies for early art viewing experiences.

Understanding imagination as both a cognitive and affective endeavor is crucial in order for educators to promote creative and imaginative thinking in informal and formal learning environments. It is the primary aim of this paper to develop the theoretical discussion of Vygotsky's writings on young children's imaginative abilities launched by Gajdamaschko (Teach Educ 16(1): [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] 2005) and Lindqvist (Res J 15(2&3): [245][246][247][248][249][250][251] 2003). This paper illustrates Vygotsky's writings on the cognitive processes involved in children's imagination and creativity and concludes with a discussion focused on the components of an educational environment that can either support or stifle children's imaginative abilities. It is through this continuing discussion that, as researchers, we hope to extend and challenge current conceptions of the role of imaginative thinking in early education.

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