“Art has the role in education of helping children become more like themselves instead of more like everyone else.” -Sydney Gurewitz Clemens
I’ve come across this quote a number of times both in my career as a teacher and even more often recently as I’ve been undergoing this amazing process of building my business and my classes. I love it because I believe that this is the best lesson kids can learn in general growing up. Helping children to become an individual, celebrate their uniqueness and learn to think for themselves are always my top priorities in teaching. I also agree that art is such a natural place for this to happen, especially when kids are just little ones. They are already self-centered (in a good way!) and are learning all about themselves so if they can become more like themselves than like everyone else from the start, they have a headstart for their future! This is one of the reasons I’ve incorporated an art class into my outdoor learning….and also just because it is fun!! So what are the actual benefits of art for our youngest learners?
This one’s obvious: Art promotes Creativity
Creativity goes hand in hand with art, I’m sure everyone can agree with that. So clearly when kids have the opportunity to try out some art, they are developing their creativity. The best part about that, is that it is just the beginning. When children build their creativity, it doesn’t stop with art. It helps them to think more creatively and come up with more creative solutions to problems. This can have profound effects on the future. The more that kids learn to think creatively in their early years, the greater the chance they will become adults who do the same and can solve some of our world's toughest problems. So really if you expose your little ones to art, you make the world a better place! Who thought it was that simple??
It develops fine motor skills as well as bilateral coordination
This one is also fairly obvious. The more our little ones work with their tiny hands and fingers, they are developing their fine motor skills. Most art activities will give kids plenty of opportunities to work with their hands. It also helps to build bilateral coordination, which happens when they use both hands together. So try all types of different art, because the more chances to work with their hands in different ways, the faster and stronger these skills will develop.
Cognitive thinking sky rockets
We already talked about how art promotes problem solving skills. But there are so many other cognitive thinking skills that will develop through art. They learn about cause and effect, they learn about perseverance and patience, and it improves their concentration. If you let your little ones participate in open ended art, they’ll have opportunities to make decisions, experiment with those decisions and evaluate their outcome. Perhaps the biggest benefit in their cognitive development will be the growth of their confidence. Kids will get to claim ownership of their work and be proud of it, and their confidence will get a huge boost, which is so important for our youngest kids.
Art helps children understand themselves, and the world around them, and also helps them to connect
As we talked about earlier, our youngest learners are incredibly self-centered (again, in the best way!). They are all about learning about themselves, and pretty much everything they do helps them with just that. Art helps them to explore self-awareness and take risks. It helps them to reflect on their actions. Art provides them with a safe outlet for their emotions. While they may not understand it at first, they will be able to use art as a way to express themselves. They can also use art to process the world around them. They will use things they see as inspiration, they will experiment in new ways. Finally, they will connect to those things around them and to other kids. If they are in class with others, they’ll see they all have things in common, but also that they are all their own unique individuals. They may like different things, or have very little in common otherwise, but they all enjoy art and can all participate in it. Art doesn’t have an age limit and isn’t defined by gender, race, ability, lifestyle or anything else. Everyone can take part and everyone can find common ground in it.
So get out there and get artsy! The activities don’t matter, and to be honest what matters even less is the outcome. It doesn’t matter what you set out to create, it doesn’t matter what your little one ends up making. What matters most is the process, and how your child feels about creating their art. So just give your kids as many opportunities to participate in art as possible. Whether you do it at home, sign up for a class or just have fun with friends, just get involved! You’ll be surprised at how much your little ones grow with each opportunity!
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