Art is important to all of us. For children, art creates opportunities to visualize, create, and express ideas.
"…the arts honor and support the needs of the whole child and they support the natural ways that children learn." - Gerry Howell, from Making Content Connections through Arts Integration, Arts Education in the News, The Dana Foundation, June 2009
See beauty
Viewing art can inspire ideas and opportunities to present to children. By visiting art museums, galleries, or simply by looking at art books, we can become familiar with a wide variety of art, artists, and art history. However, not everyone has the opportunity to visit museums and galleries. Most museum programs also have resources available for educators and families to refer to on-line and may even offer professional development opportunities to explore. A list of museum resources is provided in the references.
Introduce interesting materials
Materials mean possibilities to children. A few basic art materials are paper, drawing tools (pencils, markers, and pens), scissors, paints, paintbrushes, glue, tape, and clay. Nature is a perfect place from which to borrow art. An interesting branch placed on a table is a perfect element to inspire line, shape, form, and color. Recycled objects also can pique curiosity, such as filling recycled, clear, plastic bottles (with lids) with colored water. Place these bottles of colored water near a window and they look like jewels!
Safety first
Any material offered to children must be safe. Use good judgment and check for choking hazards for children age three years and under. Be aware of what is developmentally appropriate for different ages. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provides guidelines for certified non-toxic materials.
Experiencing art, either by making art or being exposed to art created by others, can provide heightened awareness, thinking, and learning. Research indicates that exposure and experiences in making art help children to pay better attention and to become more deeply involved in the learning process.
Make a list of even more interesting materials to offer children such as maps, recycled cards, wrapping papers, and even pages of old books - be creative and resourceful! When presenting art materials and experiences to children, it is important to ask ourselves, "What are the goals of this experience? What might children learn? What will the children need?"
Art wonderful
"The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer." - Ten Lessons the Arts Teach, Written by Elliot Eisner and commissioned by the National Art Education Association (2000)
- Through art tools and techniques, children can build fine motor skills at varying abilities.
- Thinking and using the body, such as in dancing to varying beats of a drum, are said to help in building self control and memory.
- By working on art projects in groups, children learn to discuss, listen, problem solve, plan, communicate, and join forces - all building strong social skills.
- Children can learn to identify and express many different emotions through the arts, helping to stay connected to emotional development.
- The arts encourage language and literacy, such as in singing, reading poetry and rhymes, and discussing the interesting ideas that art evokes.
- Cognitive elements can be seen, heard, and experienced in art, such as identifying shapes and patterns in a photograph, counting the beats of a drum while dancing, and exploring color - mixing formulas while painting.
Museum resources
- New York's Museum of Modern Art
- The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies
- National Gallery of Art
- Smithsonian Art Educational Resources
- The Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Chicago Children's Museum
- The National Art Education Association
Tips 13-10
