Art and arts education have certain benefits for children that, while difficult to quantify or measure, offer valuable means to broaden their experiences and help shape their perspectives on a host of topics. Parents looking to introduce their children to such benefits have a variety of choices to make and a host of options to choose from when making their decisions.
Art is food for the mind and spirit.
It has often been commented that “art feeds the soul”, a succinct way of saying that the arts and arts education can often act as comfort and nourishment for the psyche. For children, learning about the arts helps develop their imaginations and fosters their ability to think creatively. These benefits extend to other areas of the child’s mind, reflected in greater problem solving and reading comprehension skills, as well as better analytical thought processes.
But in addition to the growth of educational skills, art also helps children to interpret the events around them by seeing the works of others as attempts to achieve a similar goal. And for kids learning to make art for themselves, the satisfaction inherent in creating something original gives them a powerful boost in self-confidence.
Help children create their own art.
Many parents don’t understand that helping their children nurture their creative impulses is usually inexpensive and time-consuming. In fact, kids only need minimal supplies and materials to start creating. A trip to a local art store should provide all the necessary pencils, drawing paper or sculpting clay to get the child on their way.
For a more formal approach, many colleges and universities sometimes offer children’s art classes in a more academic setting, allowing children to learn about art in a teacher-student setting. Instructors are often artists and can offer expert guidance that parents may not be able to. Fees for such courses vary, and unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that attendance will necessarily reveal undiscovered talent, though that’s also frequently the case.
How to help children discover the act of creating.
Another popular misconception is that children need too elusive a talent to truly enjoy the act of creating. While that may become so in later years as the creative approach becomes more disciplined, at a young age talent is not the most important thing. Instead, it is enough that children are familiar with the emotional rewards of creating (as well as experiencing) art. This is really “art for art’s sake” and for the happiness of the child.
