Art Education For Your Children And Develop Their Talent

Most parents know that giving a child crayons and a coloring book is great way to occupy a kid for a few hours. What many do not know is what an important role art plays in a child's development. In recent years a multitude of studies have been made available that link art education to a variety of important aspects of childhood learning. Art education has been linked to increased creativity, development of problem solving skills and better communication skills just to start. The skills that can be developed through art education are skills that last a lifetime and can benefit a child into adulthood regardless of what career path that child may choose. Understanding the importance of art education will allow this often undervalued development tool gain momentum in main stream education programs.

The first thing that comes to mind for most people when thinking about the relevance of art is the development of creativity. Creativity is an important skill that can be nurtured though art education for children of all ages. Despite popular belief, creativity is relevant to more than just a child's artistic ability. A creative child will use that skill in all areas of life from problem solving to communication. All of which is needed in everyday learning situations from math and science to reading. The goal of education is to prepare children for their adult life, creativity and problem solving skills are a valuable asset at all points in a person's life. Many people tend to think that only artists need to be creative but what about the child who is able to come up with a creative solution to resolve a math or science question. It is the child who can resolve problems through reasoning as oppose to memorization that excels in the school setting. These same skills come in handy later on in life when that child finally enters the workforce.

Communication skills are also a valuable asset when it comes to success in school and then later success in the workforce. Art can be used as a method to help children develop better communication skills. Everyone has seen young children draw pictures of their house and family members. These types of drawings allow a child to express certain ideas that may be difficult to express through language. Having a child talk about the pictures they draw then serves as a tool to help develop those necessary language skills. As a child gets older art can be used to express the complex emotions that develop throughout childhood. Communication skills are vital to success in a school setting and increasing a child's ability to communicate will enrich a child's life well into the future.

An increase in ability in the areas of problem solving skills, creativity and communication directly translates to better learning in all areas of education. As more people begin to understand the relationship between art and learning hopefully the number of art related programs in schools will increase. There tends to be more focus on learning the skills associated with reading, writing, math and science. Increasing awareness about the role art education plays in developing these skills is a step in the right direction. This will help society create an education program that provides the best learning environment for our children and will in turn create more productive individuals later in life.

There are a large number of students who have difficulty learning material using traditional teaching methods. Learning disabilities vary from mild forms such as attention deficit disorder to more severe disabilities like autism and mental retardation. Incorporating art into the curriculum of students with learning disabilities can be a useful tool. Students with disabilities are not students who are incapable of learning but instead are students who may need material presented to them using alternative methods. Methods that incorporate art can be very successful for these children.

Many students with disabilities are separated from regular students for either part of all of the school day. These students spend a great deal of time focusing on remedial skills and learning new skills to help them catch up with the rest of the class. For students with learning disabilities the knowledge that they are not able to function at the same level as other students can be very discouraging. Introducing these students to art classes can offer them the opportunity to do something creative where success is not measured by the same standards as in regular academics. The feeling of succeeding at something can provide these students with self-worth and confidence that can carry over into other areas of study. Allowing children to be involved with art related activities also encourages creativity, problem solving skills, motor skills and other skills that are useful in all areas of academics like math, science and language.

Art lessons can be combined with traditional lessons and used as a teaching tool for these students. Children that have difficulty with verbal expression will often have more success by expressing themselves through art. Practicing expression through art may translate to better overall communication skills. Teaching math and science lessons that are hands on art based lessons also tend to hold a student's interest more than traditional lecture lessons. Sometimes just holding a student's attention is half the battle especially for students with attention deficit disorder. Activities that encourage drawing and painting can help students learn about shapes, contrast and spatial relationships. Teachers can implement lessons that use these art activities to teach basic math skills like geometry and various other math techniques. Another interesting way to teach history involves having students create plays that focus on historical events. This method can help students internalize the material as oppose to just memorizing facts from a textbook.