By Rebecca Yee-Peters
Do you ever think to yourself, "I wish I could go back to being a kid". I catch myself thinking that every once in a while. We all have those memories of being a care free child with the whole world as a new and exciting adventure. The natural curiosity of children is something to be admired.
Along with this natural curiosity, children tend to truly enjoy being creative. Do you ever hear your kid in the next room playing with their toys? The worlds they come up with while playing are so inventive. Or have you ever sat and watched your child color on a blank sheet of paper? You may ask, "What are you making?" and they shrug. Until you mentioned it, they hadn't given it any thought. Little kids are masters of the moment.
Along with being masters of the moment, while doing various arts and crafts, they are using the three major developments of childhood.
Children can increase their artistic knowledge and skill while enhancing cognitive development when participating in arts and crafts. They can learn colors, values, shapes, and drawing while practicing critical thinking skills. Let your child find out what happens when they mix two primary colors together.
Emotional development involves learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how and why they happen, recognizing one's own feelings and those of others, and developing effective ways of managing them. If your child has a hard time verbalizing their feelings, have them use art to express themselves in a healthy way. Valuing your children’s art and creativity will help them feel valued, increasing their self-worth and confidence.
Having your child involved in an art class will teach them how to socialize well with others. Most art classes for children require sharing of materials and space. This allows children to practice communication in a socially acceptable way. This refers to their social development.
