- Fine motor skills. Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, buttoning a coat and other tasks that require controlled movements.
- Cognitive development. Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect. They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.
- Math skills. Children can learn, create and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.
- Language skills. As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this development by actively listening and asking open-ended questions in return. It is also a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words regarding their project.
- Imitate your child.
- Provide choices.
- Support, don’t lead.
- Keep it open-ended.
- Focus on the process, not the product.
- Let it go.
As kids manipulate a paintbrush, their fine motor skills improve. By counting pieces and colors, they learn the basics of math. When children experiment with materials, they dabble in science. Most important perhaps, when kids feel good while they are creating, art helps boost self-confidence. And children who feel able to experiment and to make mistakes feel free to invent new ways of thinking, which extends well beyond the craft room.
- Prepare for a mess.
- Avoid giving direction.
- Speak specifically about art.
- Explore your child's process.
- Don't draw with your child.
- Let it be.
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