Coloring, painting with their hands, associating colors, touching different textures… Toddlers are often curious and inclined to explore. How to introduce them to art and what are the benefits for young children?
Artistic activities stimulate the imagination, facilitate expression and above all energize the creative processes of the child. The creative process is moreover much more interesting than the final result. Concentration, sense of observation, rigor and patience are among the many benefits of artistic activities. In fact, from 1 or 2 years old, children practice reproducing and above all interpreting the world around them. They express their ideas in a language other than speech and bring out what they want. In addition, creating things, imagining them, seeing them take shape with their own hands, give them great self-confidence and encourage them to surpass themselves.
“Introducing children to the arts and helping them develop their creativity allows them to invent new languages and pave the way for new learning”, explains Thomas Ulmann. “It also allows to bring a framework, a structure and rules to the child: one can be very free and very creative while respecting the others, their projects or even the material”. Art can also make them aware of the object / subject difference: it is quite possible to create a sculpture with wooden pieces, then deliberately demolish it, but it will be forbidden to throw these same wooden pieces on the head of another child. Finally, artistic creation helps develop fine motor skills and coordination of movements: the child learns to correctly hold tools and to make increasingly precise gestures.
Five benefits to remember:
-They develop imagination and curiosity.
-They promote self-confidence.
-They stimulate concentration and a sense of observation.
-They strengthen fine motor skills and coordination of movements.
-They help develop social skills.