5 Reasons Art is Important for Children
In case you don’t already know, I got my BFA at Pratt in Brooklyn. So maybe I consider art a little more important for kids than some other parents. I love the feeling that making art gives me. And I love sharing that with kids and watching where their creativity takes them.
As parents, most of us tend to fill up our children’s schedule’s with after school sports but here’s a little reminder of what an art class can do for your child.
1. It increases their fine motor skills. While children are drawing, constructing, sculpting, painting and cutting, they are perfecting their fine motor skills–skills that children have to practice to achieve. But while they’re making art, they won’t even realize that they’re practicing; they’ll just be focused on having fun.
2. Art challenges their creative thinking and helps to build their problem solving skills. When children create art, they have decisions to make and problems to solve–but without the pressure they might have vin an academic environment.
3. Art helps children explore feelings and build empathy. Sometimes children have a hard time commuting how they fell into words. Art allows kids to process and express their feelings in a non-verbal way. , both big and small.
4. Art can boost their confidence because in art, there’s no wrong answer and no winning team!
5. Art might help their academic performance. Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievements. PBS published a post saying, “…young people who participate regularly in the arts (3 hours a day on 3 days each week through one full year) are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.”
More than anything, making art is just fun and low pressure! It’s something you can even do together I am always completely amazed by kids’ creativity and inventiveness when they are left unattended with a bunch of art supplies! Spend a few minutes just observing and you’ll see what I mean.
