The Importance of Art for Children

By Shawn Wilson

Many schools throughout the country have established a curriculum to introduce art in the schoolroom. Children are usually very open to experiment with whatever media they are given. Art is a natural expression of oneself and an easy way for children to express how they feel.

Many parents are surprised at what their children have drawn at school as it reflects a child's inner landscape that is usually not seen on the surface. Encourage your child to draw, paint, color, and sculpt, in whatever form they have an interest in. Children love woodworking at an early age as it affords them the use of their hands to express themselves.

Many occupational therapists highly recommend art as a form of therapy to allow a child to open up and learn to trust their insights and feelings. Children who come from an abusive childhood derive the greatest benefits, and usually produce the most talented artwork.

Art can provide children with the opportunity to express them through art, using art as their own language, when words are not enough or are too difficult and painful to be expressed.

In many instances, a child's art will display their strengths, weaknesses and general interests as well as their emotional mien. Profound and intense therapy can be conducted and augmented with the introduction of art in a child's life.

Art can be a portal into a child's emotional landscape that would otherwise be difficult to connect with as in the case of children who are disabled or challenged in some way.
Children express a myriad of emotions some of which are not always socially acceptable for a child to demonstrate to others. Artwork is a way that children are free to express their emotions in a safe and contained environment.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that schools retain their art curriculums to help facilitate this form of self-expression. Many schools opt to cancel their art programs due to lack of funding. This is a sad truth in our society today when art is seen as an 'extra' school subject and not a mandatory one.

Art teachers throughout the country continually have to defend their programs to higher school authorities when funding is scarce or lacking all together. Art teachers recommend that you voice your approval and sanction the art program that your child participates and enjoys in his or her school.

Ultimately, if there are enough parents involved and voicing their opinions, then the school boards tend to be more reluctant to cancel an art program altogether.

Article Source: http://articlewagon.com

This article was written by Shawn Wilson, a member of the customer support team at Datepad, where internet dating is always free. Datepad has a massive directory of informative dating articles along with a great list of dating site reviews on their dating blog.

 

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