Through art, children express themselves and illustrate how they view the world around them. Art plays an invaluable role in a child's emotional and mental development by encouraging creativity, helping to develop motor skills and providing opportunities for hands-on learning, states Susan Jindrich on the Global Development Research Center website. Often, however, the first programs to disappear in budget-pinched school systems are classes that foster much-needed creativity in children.
Nurturing Creativity
Unlike academic classes that teach children critical thinking, mathematics, reading and writing skills, art classes allow children to behave playfully. Art nurtures self-discovery and ignites imagination. Ashfaq Ishaq, founder of the International Child Art Foundation, believes that conventional education and parenting do not generally cultivate creativity, but instead place limits on a child's creativity by encouraging "conformity and imitation in learning rather than spontaneity and creative imagination."
Developmental Stages in Drawing
Between the first and second year, children experiment with scribbling or doodling, generally drawing circular shapes as circular movements are "most natural anatomically" for a toddler, according to Betty Edwards, co-author of "Drawing Development in Children." By about 3 years old, children discover that drawings are also symbols for objects in the world around them. Children of 4 or 5 years old naturally progress to drawing pictures that tell a story, and from that point move on to creating orderly landscapes, thoughtfully placing each element where it "belongs" in the drawing. As children age, drawings become more complex. By the 10th or 11th year, most children are keenly aware that a drawing isn't "right" or realistic enough to suit them, says Edwards, and between 14 and 16 years old budding young artists become easily discouraged. It is generally at this age that many children give up on art for other pursuits.
Art as Therapy
The therapeutic value of art for children with emotional, verbal, cognitive or behavioral problems has garnered much research over the years. Stephanie Barfield, a student at Davidson--a small liberal arts college--studied the effects of art on a young boy with autism and used her observations to give others a glimpse inside the world of childhood autism. Barfield watched the boy's art progress from drawings of anxiety-producing objects, such as blenders and vacuums, to insects, birds and dinosaurs. Drawing, says Barfield, allowed the child "to diminish the turmoil caused by his fears, making him more calm and able to function in the world."
Finger painting has long been used as a diagnostic tool for children in psychotherapy because of its free-form, "playing with mud" feel and color choices. Jacob A. Arlow, MD, and Asja Kadis discovered during a 1946 clinical study that finger painting gave children the "liberty to create as well as to destroy" their creations, without being destructive.
Types of Art for Children
Drawing and painting are only two forms of art for children. Working with clay, creating and assembling collages, studying art history and the various artistic techniques of world-famous artists, or using a computer to create digital images are all art forms that promote creativity and freedom of expression in children.
Interactive sites on the Internet, such as the National Gallery of Arts' NGA Kids website, give children the opportunity to learn about techniques used by the masters or become familiar with famous works of art and create interactive art online, all at the same time.
Collaborative Art Projects
One way art enhances social skills is through group art projects, such as murals and collages. Ishaq of the International Child Art Foundation said he believes that collaborative art projects help children learn not only creativity but cooperation with other young artists as well.
References
- The Global Development Research Center: How Do Children Develop?
- Creativity Portal: On the Importance of Creativity
- International Child Art Foundation: Art, Knowledge and Leadership
- Learning Design: Drawing Development in Children
- Wiley InterScience: The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry--Finger Painting in the Psychotherapy of Children
