BENEFITS OF CREATIVE ARTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

The joy and excitement children find in art can be infectious! Art is not only fun for children of all ages, it’s also important for children’s development. Art allows children to engage their senses in open-ended play and supports the development of cognitive skills and social-emotional skills. As children get older, art continues to provide opportunities for brain development, creativity, and self-expression.

Creative art does not only involve painting and drawing but also music, movement, and dramatic play. In the first three years of life, children are forming the brain connections that lay the foundation for the language, motor, and cognitive skills they will use for years to come. Musical experiences are an important way to help young children create these pathways, also called neural connections.

Dramatic or pretend play supports social-emotional, language, and cognitive development by providing opportunities for children to practice important skills with peers. When children engage in dramatic play as a group, it requires them to cooperate and negotiate roles. This gives children the opportunity to share ideas, solve problems together, and build conflict-resolution skills.

Art benefits children’s development in a variety of other ways, such as:

Fine Motor Skills When children are creating art, there are many motions involved, such as holding a paintbrush, drawing with crayons, or cutting with scissors. These develop fine motor muscles, which help build the foundation for writing, buttoning a coat, and other complex fine motor tasks.

Language and Literacy Skills Talking to children about what they created provides children with the opportunity to learn words for colors, shapes, and much more. This helps them use descriptive words to share what they created and express what they might be feeling.

Critical Thinking Skills While working through the process of creating art, children must plan out what they want to create and consider the limitations of the materials available to them. The experience of making decisions lays the foundation for critical thinking skills.

Math Skills Math provides children with hands-on experience to practice concepts such as fractions, scale, and ratios. Often, the first math concepts children learn are linked to mastering shapes and spaces. These are basic concepts linked to foundational geometry.

The joy and excitement children find in art can be infectious! Art is not only fun for children of all ages, it’s also important for children’s development. Art allows children to engage their senses in open-ended play and supports the development of cognitive skills and social-emotional skills. As children get older, art continues to provide opportunities for brain development, creativity, and self-expression.

Creative art does not only involve painting and drawing but also music, movement, and dramatic play. In the first three years of life, children are forming the brain connections that lay the foundation for the language, motor, and cognitive skills they will use for years to come. Musical experiences are an important way to help young children create these pathways, also called neural connections.

Dramatic or pretend play supports social-emotional, language, and cognitive development by providing opportunities for children to practice important skills with peers. When children engage in dramatic play as a group, it requires them to cooperate and negotiate roles. This gives children the opportunity to share ideas, solve problems together, and build conflict-resolution skills.

Art benefits children’s development in a variety of other ways, such as:

Fine Motor Skills When children are creating art, there are many motions involved, such as holding a paintbrush, drawing with crayons, or cutting with scissors. These develop fine motor muscles, which help build the foundation for writing, buttoning a coat, and other complex fine motor tasks.

Language and Literacy Skills Talking to children about what they created provides children with the opportunity to learn words for colors, shapes, and much more. This helps them use descriptive words to share what they created and express what they might be feeling.

Critical Thinking Skills While working through the process of creating art, children must plan out what they want to create and consider the limitations of the materials available to them. The experience of making decisions lays the foundation for critical thinking skills.

Math Skills Math provides children with hands-on experience to practice concepts such as fractions, scale, and ratios. Often, the first math concepts children learn are linked to mastering shapes and spaces. These are basic concepts linked to foundational geometry.