Art 4 Kids

“ Children are naturally creative. It is our job to give them the freedom, materials and space to let their creativity blossom to its full potential.” – Jean Vant Hul

By enriching your child’s experience and helping them explore different art practices and mediums, you enable  them to find a safe space to escape our busy world. Children immersed in the act of creating are able to open their minds to other possibilities and find solutions to challenges in other areas of life.

Ways Art can help children;

1. To make sense of our thoughts

2. To connect with our feelings

3. To explore our internal mind

4. To encourage play, stimulate our imagination

5. To relax , quieten our minds, aid concentration

6. To relieve stress, reduce anxiety

7. To help develop self awareness

8. To build confidence and self-esteem

9. To express what is hard to put into words

There are many art activities that help empower your children – Make them available for them!

* keep a wide range of art supplies available, from pencils, crayons, paints and other age appropriate materials

* Have an art station with an easel blackboard so your children can be creative when they feel inspired.

* Provide a wide range of choices – chalks, play dough, unexpected materials like dry pasta, beans,

* Always appreciate your child’s creativity by displaying their art work or keeping it in a special place.

* Always ask open -ended questions like “ tell me about your picture”

* Let them experiment , make a mess , use their imagination- its all part of the creative process.

* Look out for books that teaches children about artists and styles of art, for example Matisse, an artist who made cut paper a new and exciting medium to work in.

“ The expert in anything was once a beginner” – Helen Hayes

Why Art?

Art is very important for our children and greatly benefits them in a variety of ways. Art has been shown to improve the development of a child’s motor skills, language development, decision making, cultural awareness, and encourages neural connections. Exploration through art encourages children to try new ideas in other areas of life, leading to the formation of well-rounded personalities and self esteem, which sparks further creativity and imagination.

Children are curious from an early age about their environment and how they fit in the world around them by exploring, observing and imitating. By encouraging children’s interest in art it helps them to develop motor skills to hold a paint brush, a crayon, and to learn concepts like size, shape, spatial reasoning. Language skills develop with active listening,and talking about art helps them gain more fluency with new vocabulary, expanding their vocal range.

Nurturing your child’s creativity helps them develop mentally, and boosts self- confidence.  By giving children a creative outlet for artistic pursuits it encourages artistic expression that helps fascilitate learning and new ways of thinking. Art is an important vehicle for emotion that allows children to work through ideas and problem solving by experimenting with different materials and making mistakes.

Art appreciation is not just a recognition of well known artists. It is introducing children to a new way of seeing. It helps them to become more aware of other’s point of view, visual expression and imagery around them.

This way of learning about art through parents engaging interactively helps children to engage in activities that develop a range of skills from emotional, social and cognitive skills.

In our technological age where everything is at a click of a button, it does not allow children to observe and take their time to enjoy the beauty in an artwork. That was one of the reasons for creating art4kids gallery. So parents and children could select a favourite artwork that inspired a story or an understanding of the living world. The idea that a treasured picture would hold memories of childhood and time spent together is invaluable .