What is Crayola dream-makers? (Dream-Makers).

* A program that encourages kindergarten through 6th grade children's creative development and learning, while providing opportunities for national recognition and exhibition of outstanding student artwork.

* Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; The Kennedy Center, The National Association of Elementary School Principals, and other leading arts and education organizations.

* Centered on an annually published guide with complete lesson plans, resources, school to home parent letters, and cross-curricular links in a classroom-tested format.

* Each guide is based on national art standards, includes a strong literacy component and is built on a theme currently relevant to educators, such as character development, world events, science, math, or other subjects.

* Guides are generously illustrated with children's artwork and incorporate tips on working with art materials, extensions for further exploration and alternatives for younger or physically challenged students.

RELATED ARTICLE: One Teacher's Experience

I have seen tremendous growth in children's language development and literacy skills when we use Dream-Makers in the classroom. Students go from making fragmented descriptions of colors and images to using full sentences to tell about what's happening in their artwork.

The guides are easy to use. You don't need to have any art background. I like the way the lessons integrate across all disciplines and each yearly theme presents topics that are relevant to the daily lessons in the classroom curriculum.

Linda Dipasquale-Morello

Milanesi Elementary

Buena, New Jersey