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Artwork and Young Children

When children re-create their experiences and interact with materials through art, it may be fun to them, but it is an activity with serious learning potential.

Personal Skills

Children learn decision-making skills and independence by being allowed to choose their own materials, as well as help design and clean up their own projects. The creation of artwork is a natural place for the child to practice these skills, as well as those of fine-motor control (use of the small muscles in the hand).

Social/Emotional Development

The use of drawing, writing, sculpting and other forms of art teaches children an appropriate and satisfying means for expressing strong emotions. Quiet, self-directed art activities provide an opportunity to re-energize or calm.

Thinking skills

Even before children create a recognizable drawing or word, they need to have many experiences using writing instruments in order to pass through all the stages that later develop into writing and drawing. When a child begins to represent objects, words or people, they are learning to use symbols, the basis of our reading/writing system. Creating artwork provides practice in the use of problem-solving skills and sometimes an incidental science, math or physics lesson.

Self-Esteem

Displaying children’s work indicates that the work is valued and contributes to the child’s sense of accomplishment. When adults pay attention to children’s representations of art, it is a form of "listening" to the child.