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The importance of arts education for children
The importance of arts education for children
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Visual arts refers to visual and tactile art, print and craft media, self-expression, analysis and interpretation (Edwards, 2010). Teachers play an important role in enhancing children’s creativity and supporting visual arts in the classroom. Children’s artistic development can be fostered by making environments effective. Teachers are designers in this situation as they need to make practical and supportive environments for the children to engage in visual arts activities. The arrangement of the classroom furniture and use of materials should be adaptable to accommodate the needs of different activities (Wright, 2003). Teachers are provisioners as they provide a variety of resources for children to use which includes papers of different …show more content…
Firstly, children’s cognitive development is greatly enhanced through visual arts. In order for children to produce art, they have to think of an idea, an experience or feeling and construct symbols to express what they know (Isbell & Raines, 2007). Exploration of art materials help children build a knowledge of their physical properties which supports decision-making, evaluation and problem-solving (Edwards, 2010). Moreover, children will have many opportunities to work together in small groups and will then learn to value others’ ideas (Isbell & Exelby, 2001). Since visual arts is a form of self-expression, children can express their feelings through artworks and hence, learn emotional regulation. Small muscle development occurs when children cut, paste, draw and paint while large muscles develop through activities such as creating a large mural (Isbell & Raines, 2007). Therefore, visual arts enhances children’s development in all …show more content…
In early childhood, teachers guide children’s artistic learning, which is then supported by peers (Wright, 2003). This is known as the guided approach. In this approach, teachers reflect, explore and plan together possible way to extend children’s artistic knowledge and skills. Furthermore, activities are deliberately open-ended to foster divergent thinking and support the process instead of the product (Mills, 2014). Teaching creative arts provides children a mode of communication and a medium for representing the world (Wright, 2003). Since children learn through play, creative arts is a platform for children to interact socially, explore emotions and develop motor skills (Mills,
Art in kindergarten consists of knowledge, skills, and concepts from these four areas: music, art, dance, and theater. You will want to integrate the art into everything that you do. Children love to participate in activities relating to art. You can have centers and let them draw, play with sand and be creative on their own activity they choose to
The Language of Art by Ann Pelo describes the inquiry-based studio practices in early childhood settings. When I started to read chapter six I traced a lot of words ,as going through the few pages I came across this word called “children’s pursuits” at the very beginning of the first question of how do we grow a culture of inquiry (Pelo,2007,p.109) . I choose this word because it is challenging for me during my first practicum placement, illustrates the heart of this chapter and guides me as an Educator to facilitate my learning for future preparation. It literally impacts our learning and pedagogical styles when we recreate art activities for children.
Teaching using creative methods can help develop the whole child. It can make learning experiences more exciting, more relevant, create different contexts for learning, al...
There are a whole lot of programs or curriculums out there that try to talk about the environmental and academic needs of children. In this paper, I will try my best to discuss the five components of the Creative Curriculum framework, as well as the philosophies, theories, and research behind its foundation.
Many do not consider where images they see daily come from. A person can see thousands of different designs in their daily lives; these designs vary on where they are placed. A design on a shirt, an image on a billboard, or even the cover of a magazine all share something in common with one another. These items all had once been on the computer screen or on a piece of paper, designed by an artist known as a graphic designer. Graphic design is a steadily growing occupation in this day as the media has a need for original and creative designs on things like packaging or the covers of magazines. This occupation has grown over the years but still shares the basic components it once started with. Despite these tremendous amounts of growth,
NACCCE definition of creativity: ‘Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value’(NACCCE, 1999:94).Creativity can motivate children to learn new information through a creative outlook. One of the biggest issues teachers have is between teaching required content and integrating creativity into the daily sessions. The National Curriculum and state standard often create boundaries towards the teacher’s ability to develop the lesson, as the intention of including creativity sometimes resorts in a teacher centred learning environment. The teacher’s role should be to generate lessons and create activities that encourage students to be more open to their creative side. This is vital as it exposes children with varying learning styles to different ways of learning.
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.
Kalish, Nancy. "Why Art Makes Kids Smarter."Parenting 20 6 2010: n. pag. Web. 12 Apr
Art Education is not always valued in school settings. Although some may see it as an unnecessary use of school funding, there are many who believe it is beneficial to students in more ways than one. There are many different studies that have been conducted to test the effects that art education has on school-aged children. Some studies have proven that art education can help students to improve in other academic areas. In a journal article from Ohio State University’s “Theory in Practice,” Karen A Hamblen states, “There are linkages between art learning and learning in other subjects areas and that art study can promote creative behaviors, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement.” It has also been found that the arts can teach children better self-regulatory strategies, and even foster more confidence and self-efficacy in school which relates to confidence in academics. Overall, art education in schools has been very beneficial and has proven to ignite creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement in students.
The location of the observation was at the Community Center (Early Childhood education program) at 11:00am to 12:30pm on April 15, 2014. The meaningful experiences in early childhood education can positively shape children's development. With a teacher is guidance authentic child-art activity can educate enrich young students' learning abilities, encourage positive attitudes toward other children, and more importantly, learn to interact with people around them in the contemporary world. However, art for young students often takes many diversified approaches and emphasizing questionable practices. Observation is a part of meaningful and authentic early childhood art education. Observation enriches children’s experiences in their environment, gives them motivation to study, interact with other children and follow the practices of their adult models. Moreover, they develop strategies and skills to represent objects in their environment.
When I was in high school, I was very involved in the arts. I took a band, choir and two years of visual art. During the years of high school, I knew that the fees for the art courses cost much more than other electives at my school. I also observed that the school focused more on their athletic and academics programs, than on their art programs. We had many fundraisers to raise more money for the art programs even after paying an already expensive fee to takes these electives. Schools are neglecting the visual arts programs and placing all of their money and focus on academics and athletics programs. I propose a balance between the arts, academics, and the athletics.
To begin with Sir Ken Robinson states that “creativity is the greatest gift of human intelligence” and therefore the education system should help children to realise their creative potential, unfortunately many are being displaced from their own true talents. Formal instructions and inquiry based learning are essential for creative education. There are some times when it is appropriate for the teacher to give formal instruction in skills a...
Throughout the ages art has played a crucial role in life. Art is universal and because art is everywhere, we experience it on a daily basis. From the houses we live in (architecture) to the movies we see (theatre) to the books that we read (literature). Even in ancient culture art has played a crucial role. In prehistoric times cave dwellers drew on the wall of caves to record history. In biblical times paintings recorded the life and death of Christ. Throughout time art has recorded history. Most art is created for a specific reason or purpose, it has a way of expressing ideas and beliefs, and it can record the experiences of all people.
Creative Arts in early childhood education refers to children’s participation in a variety of activities that engage their minds, bodies and senses (Sinclair, Jeanneret & O’Toole, 2012; Kearns, 2017); to inspire all children with the opportunity for creative and imaginative expression. Duffy (2006) and Sinclair et al. (2012) state that creativity is the process where children use their imagination to problem solve, develop new ideas, independence and flexibility to accomplish tasks. Furthermore, when educators foster creativity, they are assisting children in making meaning through play and developing their growing capacity to communicate, collaborate and think critically to meet the demands of life in the 21st century (Duffy, 2006; Korn-Bursztyn, 2012; Sinclair et al., 2012).
A child’s drawing can tell so much about what they are thinking and feeling about their surroundings. They see things differently from adults and teens because when they are drawing or doing some sort of art they are not told that it is a “bad picture” or what ever they are doing is “not right.” They don’t have a limit upon their thoughts and ideas, but when they grow up, they do. Starting from the first day of school, they are taught about the wrong things and the right things. As we grow older there are more classes that have right and wrong answers to a question like, for example, math.