Art and the Advancement of Life Skills in the Early Years

Art is a great way to explore creativity; being able to take something from your imagination and bring it to fruition is one of the many skills and abilities that art helps enhance. From a young age, many children are offered coloring activities, crafts, and sensory art to expand their artistic environment. The skills that come from coloring in the lines (or not), following instructions (or not), and simply exploring, all have a lasting impact on a child as they grow up. Art is usually enjoyable but we can acknowledge that not every child will grow up to be a world-renowned artist, but in the preschool and elementary grades these interactions with art and examining different mediums teaches valuable life long lessons they will carry into adulthood.  

Hand-Eye Coordination is something that comes with time. From the grasping motion of a baby toward a toy to even the most minute and skilled movements of a surgeon it takes practice to be able to envision where you want your hand to go and what you want them to do. Art, in one of its most basic forms, is focused on the skill of hand-eye coordination. To be able to pick up a crayon, pencil, marker, etc. and be able to either fill in a shape by the command of your physical and mental ability, or to go outside of and remove the lines entirely to create in white space, all takes hand-eye coordination. Different art forms need different amounts and types of hand-eye coordination; consider sewing with a needle, using a paintbrush, gluing down sequins, pinching a clay pot, or folding an origami crane. These different skills can all develop coordination in different ways, so a good way to consider art in helping with hand-eye coordination is to diversify mediums. 

Next is the obvious, enhancing the use of imagination and creativity. Although these may not seem like skills that can be developed, they very much are- being able to tap into the inner inspiration of one’s mind and thought processes to create anything takes experience and practice. To be able to imagine and form thoughts more complex as we age is tied into this idea of imagination and creation. The more complicated our inner thoughts and the more fantastic our imagination, our ability to create and the drive to invent grows. The use of imagination not only applies to play and artistic creations (even though those are important as well) but also applies to project planning, future thinking, and our next point of reference: problem solving. 

In art, things are bound to go wrong: going outside the lines, using a wrong stich, using too much glue, ripping a paper, splitting a pot- the list can go on and on. But when things go awry, art teaches how to process the issue and move forward with a solution. How to correct and adjust for small complications, plan out for larger issues or, yes, sometimes the solution might be to start over and try again- but that is a sign of growth in itself. Problem solving is a constant in art as things don’t always go as planned. So having the practice and patience to continue with the project by adapting to the situation or adjusting technique around the issue makes for great problem solving situations to learn from. 

This article has touched on skills of the mind and the body, but what about the social and emotional? Emotional expression and emotional intelligence is a large part of art and creation in general. There is a good reason that Art Therapy exists and can be very helpful. Art is a way for emotions to be expressed when perhaps the voice cannot do it alone. Being able to use tactile ways to share emotions and responses to events in an unrestrictive manner allows space for growth of emotional understanding of self. Separating thoughts and feelings from the person and transplanting them into art that can be ‘touched’ can be healing, helpful, and a skilled response to many situations. 

A small note; many aspects of art touch on education and exploration. Skills and learning about related concepts like Language, Culture, Math, Social Skills, and more all come with the investment in art, using inspiration, originality, and resourcefulness. 

Art is for everyone and through art and creativity elementary students (and anyone at any age) can practice the skills they would use for a lifetime. This also leaves a lasting impact on the joy art and creation brings to their childhood. Enriching Kidz offers various art classes aimed at kids and tweens of various ages to help your child engage with themselves, their creations and skills. Some classes we provide are Pottery Wheel 101, Creative Kidz Crafting, and Felting Fun for Kidz, consider finding out more about them on our classes page here. Remember, creativity and learning is not always linear- it’s good sometimes to go outside the lines.