Art has long been relegated on the backburner of “useful” school subjects and worthwhile pursuits, in terms of intellectual and profitable skills advancement. Art has occupied the lowly category of simply the hobby of self entertainment, not so much as a high echelon occupation with developmental or competitive value. It is fortunate however that in the last few decades, educators, psychiatrists, and scientists have begun to realise the creative process as a valuable tool in early childhood development.
While reading, math, and science stimulates the logical and analytical left side of the brain, art rouses the intuitive, creative, and imaginative right hemisphere. To achieve a balance, both cerebral hemispheres need to be trained and work synergistically for a child’s optimal development.
This may be why children exposed to the artistic process acquire an added advantage over children who have not been immersed regularly in such. Contrary to the popular notion that arts education is not geared toward solving problems, achieving academic excellence, or advancing social and civic engagement, studies have revealed that the arts open a child towards these very achievements.
Young children immersed in creative arts tend to develop the following advantages:
Better Cognitive Skill Development and Out-of-the-Box Thinking
Cognitive skills involve memory, focus, decision making, learning, language abilities, perception, and the like. These skills are crucial for a person to carry out tasks from the simplest to the most complex. The whole process of cognition makes up how an individual understands the world and reacts to it. When cognition skills start failing, so does one’s ability to function properly and effectively in most areas of life.
Art sharpens cognitive skills. Painting, moulding play dough, and cutting out shapes helps little kids to use their perceptive abilities to gauge colour, size, and shape of things. Mixing colours and experimenting on brush strokes teaches them cause and effect. As children are given free rein over their work, they are encouraged to make decisions... “”Do I colour the sky green to make it different or stick to reality with blue?;” “Would yellow flowers make this scene prettier or would pink stars look better?” Every time a child engages in creative arts, he plans, experiments, and problem solves while using his imagination as well. The creative process influences him to plan what to make, dabble in ways on how to present his concept, and coaxes him to analyse how to rectify mistakes. In this manner, young children develop that valuable ability of thinking out of the box, using imagination and analytical skills.
Development of Motor Skills
Motor skill development is important in early childhood development. Scissor and paint brush handling for instance advances fine motor dexterity of the hands. This can prepare them early to learn the necessary skill of writing.
Better Chances for Academic Achievement
A study spanning ten years by Stanford University of the U.S. revealed that young kids involved in a regular arts based community program were:
- 4x more likely to garner an academic achievement
- 3x more likely to have high scores in school attendance
- 8x more likely to gain a civic award
- 4x more likely to join in math or science fairs
- More likely to reap high SAT scores for college admissions if they have more than 4 years of arts immersion outside school
Improved Odds for Children to Be Achievers
Michigan State University researchers have found a strong link between arts-immersed children and their measurable achievements in their adult life. Because the arts encourages creativity, innovation, and out-of-the-box thinking, children with varied arts exposure were more likely to become inventors of patentable products, innovative entrepreneurs, or provocative writers. The research involved studying scientists and according to the research’s co-authors Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, “The most eminent and innovative among them are significantly more likely to engage in arts and crafts avocations” than the average person would.
It’s the Process That Counts
Creative arts education is not some frivolous endeavour young children can do without. Education is not complete without creative arts training. Children do not need to be inherently artistic, but they need to be trained in the creative process. The process of creating art is what allows the child to learn what other traditional academic subjects cannot instil.
Art imposes a tremendous developmental impact on children’s minds as it helps them gain better critical thinking abilities, cultural and social awareness, personal confidence, and sound mental health.
