Art Benefits Children Cognitively,
Socially, and Physically
Thank
you, Jean, for the opportunity to talk about how art benefits children.
Our
creative and wise God has wonderfully made each child, weaving him or her into
an intricate and connected whole. So not surprisingly, many studies show creative
activities, such as art, music, and drama, help children do better in all
subjects.
In
this post I’ll…
list benefits educators see from
children’s participation in art.
share easy, fun ways you can enjoy art
with children.
give you some helpful resources.
Benefits in cognitive,
social, and physical development from art
Using
crayons and scissors, and other art tools helps children develop fine motor
skills.
Looking
at artworks help children develop better observation skills.
Discussing
artworks builds vocabulary and social skills.
Describing
what they see in an artwork helps children learn to visualize, improving comprehension
in reading.
Art
activities help develop visual/spatial skills and how to understand and use
visual information—important in learning to interpret photos, graphs, maps, etc.
When
children make choices in creating art, it enhances problem-solving skills.
Art
gives children opportunities to explore their interests and talents.
Art activities to enjoy
with children
Enjoy
creating art with your child, using markers, scissors, paint, yarn, etc. Especially
fun after looking at an artwork together.
Looking
at paintings together improves cognitive and social skills. Ask children to
tell what’s going on in the painting and what tells them that. Then have them
to tell what else they see.
Invite
children to tell what they think will happen next in a painting.
Enhance
observational and verbal skills by rephrasing words and adding new vocabulary.
Help them see nuances of color such as blue greens, lime greens, etc.
Have
them go on a scavenger hunt to find objects or shapes, colors, patterns, etc.
in a painting.
Invite
children to take an imaginary walk into a landscape, describing what they see,
hear, smell, and touch as they travel from the foreground, through the middle
ground, to the background.
Discuss
how artists show sitters’ interests and personalities in portraits. Ask children
what they’d put in their self-portraits.
Write
similes and metaphors describing a painting’s sky, trees, buildings, etc.
Compare
and contrast two similar paintings, such as two landscapes. Write comparing and
contrasting compositions.
Resources:
Art
museums—many now have children’s guides. Keep visits short.
Online—large
museums often have interactive sites.
Libraries—recent
years have seen an explosion of art books for children.
Bio
Kathy loves to help children and adults understand great art and encourage them to enjoy creating their own great art! She is an educator, writer, and speaker, with many years’ experience in Christian schools, public schools, and homeschool as well as adult groups. She writes devotions for The Quiet Hour and other devotionals, as well as nonfiction articles for children’s magazines, such as Highlights. On her blog she explains how to look at great paintings, followed by a devotion to point children and adults to God. These are followed by a related art project to do with children.
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