Why Does Art Matter for Young Children?
What comes to your mind when you see art drawn by children? Splashes of different coloured paints, collages covered in glitter and glue, coloured papers cut into different sizes, and colourful drawings, many of which appear to be quite random. Do they always make sense?
The truth is that they don’t have to.
In early childhood, art is more about creating something that expresses how a child feels. It is more than what meets the eye.
When young children experiment with art, they reap enormous benefits out of it. This activity supports free play and gives children an opportunity to explore what they can do with colours and material to create something unique.
How does art help in the overall development of a child though? Let’s find out.
1. Promotes problem-solving skills
This does sound completely out of bounds, but creativity is directly related to problem-solving.
Think of it this way: a scientist working on an experiment, looking to find solutions tries many different methods to arrive at a conclusion.
Similarly, when a child unknowingly mixes colours, they realise which two combinations lead to an entirely different colour that they didn’t even know they wanted!
Art teaches them that there is no one correct answer to a question. It entirely depends on the path they follow.
2. Develops fine motor skills
Using their tiny hands to create wonder with chalks, pencils, crayons, and paintbrushes, helps children exercise and develop the small muscles in their hands and wrists.
In fact, squeezing glue, rolling clay, cutting out shapes, and using paintbrushes of different sizes also helps a child’s fingers to grow stronger.
Art, thus, helps little ones enhance their motor skills.
Children also find it easier to learn to write and button their clothes when they do art at an early age.
3. Induces self-expression
Children use art to express themselves at a fundamental level. Their artwork is often the realisation of that expression, but more importantly, the expression is the actual act of creating.
Picture a toddler who is busy creating different shapes from playdough with a new baby sister; a six-year-old who joyfully paints flowers reds and yellows; a ten-year-old who sketches a portrait of her recently deceased grandmother.
By engaging in art, children feel encouraged to work with their thoughts and emotions. Looking at a completed piece of art enables a child to communicate their feelings in a more realistic and meaningful way. Since they have very limited access to vocabulary, art becomes a mode of communication for little children.
Art also develops the power of imagination. The answers and instructions come from the child rather than being told what to do.
4. Helps identify and draw different shapes
When a child engages in model-making or doing craft, they understand the significance of different shapes, getting a chance to learn broader concepts that extend beyond what is taught in a classroom.
So how do we view art?
We believe art is an experience that involves free thought, experimentation, and analysis.
Open-ended art gives children the opportunity to experiment with different supplies, find out how various everyday objects can be used to create something entirely new.
At Beansprouts, we believe that instead of hand-holding a child while they create art, it’s best to allow them the freedom to imagine and explore.
By giving them what they need and letting them extrapolate their thoughts in their own way through art, we aim to make children more individualistic, better problem-solvers and critical thinkers, and more fearless.As one of the best pre-schools in Gurugram, Beansprouts takes a dynamic, comprehensive approach towards learning with a focus on active child-centred exploratory learning experiences.