Early childhood education sets the stage for a lifelong love of learning. Yes, academic building blocks such as numbers and the alphabet are important, but creative development also matters, and few experiences promote creative growth quite like art education.
Art education allows young children to express themselves while also developing emotional resilience and fine motor skills, and it plays an increasingly important role in early childhood curricula. This growing field beckons passion-driven individuals who are excited to bring the power of creative expression to the world’s youngest and most receptive learners. Keep reading to discover the benefits of art in early childhood and learn more about opportunities for teaching art to preschoolers.
Benefits of Art Education for Young Children
Every person, regardless of age or education level, can benefit from exposure to visual art. Art promotes personal exploration and experimentation, fostering creativity and encouraging innovative thinking. Through art, people of all ages can develop valuable problem-solving skills and may come away feeling inspired and confident.
These advantages exist across the lifespan but are especially exciting in early childhood, when the brain acts like a sponge, with children absorbing new information and ways of thinking at an astonishing rate. Children benefit from art education at all stages, but early childhood is especially crucial. During this time, the rapid formation of neural connections offers the best chance to improve cognitive flexibility and visual literacy.
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences highlights several advantages of art education. This includes building well-rounded individuals, developing “life and career” skills, improving school engagement, and strengthening entire communities. Among individuals, the developmental benefits of art largely fall into two main categories, as outlined below:
Cognitive Development
A wealth of research links exposure to the arts to improved academic performance in children of all ages. While the mechanisms that underscore these improvements remain poorly understood, a study published in the journal Science of Learning reveals the value of diverse educational experiences for boosting “higher cognitive functions.” Experts believe that creative activities stimulate important areas of the brain, boosting everything from focus to memory while enhancing communication skills and other important abilities.
Emotional and Social Growth
Many of the core functions of early childhood education center around emotional development and adapting to socialized environments. These early experiences could determine how children regulate their emotions or interact with one another far into the future. Many preschool activities demonstrate the value of imaginative play in early childhood, but art is unique in that it provides a tangible representation of children’s dynamic inner worlds.
A National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) literature review provides a deep dive into the social and emotional benefits of early childhood art lessons, revealing that these benefits are most notable when there is a “social component to the arts activity.” Emotional benefits are even more noteworthy, with art offering a safe outlet through which children can process complex feelings while developing empathy.
Key Principles of Art Education for Early Childhood
In early childhood, art education is all about exploration. The goal is to encourage children to express themselves while broadening their creative horizons. This can be achieved through scaffolding, in which teachers provide support while students gradually improve their skills and take ownership of their work.
Encouraging Creativity and Imagination
As young children are exposed to a vast and complex world, they rely on an imaginative mindset to help them explore new possibilities while learning how to address and solve a variety of problems. This can inspire greater confidence and curiosity, setting children up for success in future educational endeavors.
Research consistently demonstrates that young children learn best through storytelling and play, both of which naturally relate to artistic expression. In general, art education nurtures creativity by allowing children to explore a variety of ideas and mediums as they develop their own unique artistic voices.
Focusing on the Process, Not the Product
Art education should go beyond mimicry, especially as art is a highly subjective and personal pursuit. In early childhood, this subject is supposed to be mentally expansive rather than feeling restrictive. For early childhood art educators, this means resisting the urge to critique young children’s creations or to force them to abide by rigid techniques or processes. Rather, early childhood art educators should encourage students to think creatively as they explore through new artistic mediums.
This mindset can be summed up as “process over product” and can be enhanced through the previously described scaffolding methodology. Educators can also promote process by praising children for their effort and their willingness to experiment, rather than focusing on how the end product appears.
Effective Techniques for Teaching Art to Young Children
The National Art Education Association (NAEA) recommends comprehensive and holistic art activities that introduce students to several mediums, techniques and styles. NAEA also points to the need for exposure to real-world artists and their creations, ideally through studio experiences and visits to museums or art galleries. Beyond this, students can benefit from taking part in these compelling activities or experiences:
Open-Ended Art Activities
While coloring books may seem like the go-to strategy for improving fine motor skills, creative development in early childhood calls for open-ended activities. These activities empower children to share their ideas while experimenting with new techniques.
Educators can help children think creatively by offering simple prompts, but from there, young artists should have the chance to take their artwork in their own unique direction. Again, this is where scaffolding proves invaluable, offering a basic introduction and reassurance where needed while promoting self-efficacy and autonomy.
Introducing Different Materials and Textures
While crayons and paper can fuel wonderful artistic experiences, this is only the beginning. Young children should have the chance to work with a variety of materials, including potentially messy options such as clay or paint. Early childhood art can also incorporate real-world objects, such as leaves, petals, scraps of fabric or recycled materials. Free play and guided exploration encourage young learners to explore these materials at their own pace, although some teacher modeling may also prove helpful.
Incorporating Storytelling and Art
As a universal language, art qualifies as an important form of visual storytelling. This is best encouraged in elementary school by allowing them to create their own illustrations for the fascinating stories they write or narrate. Preschoolers may prefer to build storytelling directly into the artistic process, using diverse tools and materials to aid and inspire them as they create their own unique characters or settings.
Many preschool classrooms build stories into art by drawing inspiration from favorite picture books. Eric Carle, for instance, inspires with his vibrant, textured imagery, which students can mimic through art projects dedicated to The Very Hungry Caterpillar or other childhood classics. Storytelling becomes part of the artistic process through dramatic play. For example, children might create props for imaginative activities or use stories to explain their artwork as they create it.
Age-Appropriate Art Activities for Early Childhood
Art is valuable from the get-go, with studies indicating that even infants demonstrate clear aesthetic preferences and respond positively when exposed to visual art, especially when that exposure occurs in tandem with literacy-building activities. However, children may respond differently to different types of activities, and some may simply not be realistic based on kids’ varying attention spans or fine motor skills. To that end, we’ve highlighted several age-appropriate activities that can be built into the early childhood art curriculum:
Art for Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
Sensory-rich art activities provide a powerful introduction to artistic expression, helping toddlers understand that their actions can have a direct visual impact. Accommodations may be required based on toddlers’ limited fine motor skills, but parents and educators should not shy away from potentially messy activities. Whether explored through parent-child activities or in daycare, young children can benefit greatly from participating in these toddler art activities:
- Playing with homemade play dough. Mixing, kneading and using simple accessories such as rollers or toddler-safe cutters are fantastic resources for this age group.
- Finger painting using multiple surfaces, including paper, windows, baking trays and even rocks.
- Try experimenting with unusual art materials for toddlers. For example, washi tape is available in many colors and patterns and can be applied to many surfaces to promote creative expression and fine-motor skills.
Art for Preschoolers (Ages 3-5)
Teaching art to preschoolers can be deeply rewarding. Young children show wonderful enthusiasm for art projects, and compared to toddlers, are more likely to bring a social approach to artistic creation. They love sharing their work and building storytelling into the process. Activities associated with preschool art education include:
- Open-ended painting opportunities may involve paintbrushes and easels or incorporate unique tools such as marbles or salad spinners.
- Simple collages made by cutting and pasting images from children’s magazines. Collages can also incorporate found items such as buttons or feathers.
- Building sculptures from diverse materials, such as pipe cleaners, foam blocks or even dry pasta noodles.
Art for Early Elementary (Ages 5-7)
By kindergarten, children should be able to hold pencils and other drawing tools properly and, ideally, will be able to draw simple shapes or cut straight lines with scissors. This, along with increased spatial recognition and improved hand-eye coordination, should allow children to become more expressive with their artwork. Open-ended opportunities remain preferable, but older children may also appreciate simple guidance while still receiving plenty of encouragement to share their unique ideas.
- Children can create simple puppets to explore multiple aspects of artistic expression. This includes visual art through puppet design, storytelling while putting on puppet shows and even music through puppet-based song and dance.
- Weaving projects that allow children to create their own colorful tapestries. Elementary students may enjoy other yarn-based projects, including string art or braiding boards.
- Simple diorama projects designed to convey three-dimensional scenes. This can be a great opportunity for integrating other lessons or subjects.
Tips for Creating an Art-Friendly Environment at Home or in the Classroom
Art education should not be limited to the classroom. Ideally, young children will be exposed to artistic concepts and opportunities daily. This reinforces that art is an important part of their lives and encourages autonomy in artistic pursuits. Children are more likely to engage in creative activities when they have frequent opportunities to express themselves. These activities become even more enjoyable when parents and caregivers provide artistic support and encouragement.
Setting Up an Art Corner
While students can benefit greatly from dedicated art classes, there are many other ways to build art into the educational experience. In fact, exposure to the arts throughout the day is incredibly valuable, as this demonstrates that art is worth prioritizing.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this? Create an art corner where children can engage in self-directed artistic play. This can be a wonderful part of free time in the classroom or daycare environment but is also easy for parents to set up in their own homes. There is no one way to accomplish this, but common elements include:
- A dedicated sensory table or desk where children are allowed (and encouraged) to get messy.
- Easy-to-use materials such as homemade play dough, which children can manipulate with minimal instruction or intervention.
- Simple storage so children can get involved in routines such as setting up and putting away art supplies independently.
Encouraging a Growth Mindset through Art
Some children are easily frustrated when they struggle to develop new skills. Artistic opportunities give children a healthy way to channel frustration, build problem-solving skills, and grow confidence in their abilities.
Defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as “the belief that a person’s intelligence and abilities can grow and improve with practice,” a growth mindset can greatly improve resilience and overall emotional well-being. This has been linked to improved self-efficacy and, ultimately, academic performance. Art education can help cultivate this important mindset by positioning mistakes not as something to be avoided, but rather as an integral part of the learning process.
Integrating Art with Other Subjects for Holistic Learning
Integrative learning activities benefit preschool students greatly. These activities foster curiosity while helping children develop more meaningful connections. This is an increasingly important aspect of art and early childhood development, with art regarded as an effective vehicle for improving understanding across a variety of subjects.
Name a topic and there is almost certainly a creative way to make it more engaging through artistic exploration. Big movement art, for example, can be a wonderful component of kinesthetic learning, while the previously described book-inspired activities blend art and literacy to great effect. Other examples of holistic learning in preschool art education include:
Combining Art and Science
Science and art are both curiosity-driven pursuits, calling for innovative thinking while striving to enhance our understanding of the world around us. Activities that blend art and science can drive deep exploration while improving student motivation and engagement. Examples of science-oriented art projects for young children include:
- Upcycling activities to explore artistic expression from an eco-friendly perspective while encouraging students to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
- Chromatography color experiments combine art with chemistry while demonstrating the principles of pigments and color mixing.
- Explore botany through pressed flower art, which can inspire conversations about types of flowers and the different parts of each plant.
Using Art to Teach Math Skills
From the inherent artistry of geometry to spatial reasoning and important concepts such as proportion, math and art are closely linked, students may simply require a little extra guidance to understand these connections.
Simply put, math is a lot more exciting when it involves immersive learning, rather than relying exclusively on worksheets. Math-inspired art activities for preschoolers or kindergarteners might include:
- Preschoolers can learn about patterns through artistic activities such as collages. Teachers can provide basic insight into patterns while encouraging students to select and create patterns they find personally compelling.
- Elementary school students may be ready to play with tessellations, which provide a powerful introduction to important geometric concepts.
- Encourage in-depth discussions of three-dimensional shapes while using a variety of differently shaped objects to build sculptures.
Cultivate Passion and Self-Expression Through Art Education
You could play a powerful role in igniting a lifelong love of learning and creative expression through early childhood art education. This exciting journey begins with pursuing your Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Arts Education with Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD). This is your opportunity to introduce a new generation to the power of artistic expression. Get in touch to learn more about our online and on-campus art education programs.