Importance of Art and Crafts in Early Childhood Education
Posted by Strategic Communications, JGI Group on 26 June 2023

According to the Journal of Educational Psychology, students who are actively involved in arts and crafts in early childhood have better academic records and show better reading and learning comprehension.

Interesting, right? However, in a world where adults are surrounded by technology, children are no exception. Often, parents bestow their children with all sorts of technological equipment and gadgets to keep them entertained and prevent them from becoming a chaotic distraction. Although technological exposure is necessary for kids, uncontrolled access and overuse can pose a great threat to their overall development.

So, people who are looking for an alternative way to ensure positive development for their children must let their children invest their time and energy into creative hobbies. One such activity is art and craft, which play a vital role in cognitive development and learning in kids. Through engaging in various art forms, such as drawing, and painting, children develop essential cognitive skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making. They can explore different colours, shapes, and materials, encouraging them to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas. This fosters their creative thinking abilities and nurtures their imaginative capacities.

Let’s understand the importance of art and craft in early childhood education in a more detailed way:

Develops motor skills:

Engaging in arts and crafts activities allow kids to use their hands and fingers extensively, thereby improving their fine motor skills. Simple actions like holding a paintbrush or colouring with crayons can help to improve their control and grip.

Enhances dexterity:

Arts and crafts activities enhance the agility and dexterity of children. With practice and improvement of their fine motor skills, their manual dexterity, speed, and artistic skills will also be enhanced.

Promotes Cultural Appreciation:

Art and craft activities expose children to different artistic styles that span across diverse cultural traditions, and artworks from different periods and regions of the country or elsewhere. This exposure allows the children to appreciate the beauty in diversity, be tolerant towards other cultures and show appreciation and respect for different artistic expressions.

Promotes self-expression:

Art and craft is a creative journey, and thus, it provides the children with an opportunity to express their feelings in a more meaningful and positive way. Art and craft offer a non-verbal form of communication that allows children to express themselves visually and creatively when words are insufficient or difficult to express emotions or ideas.

Builds social relationships:

When children learn or engage in arts and crafts in a classroom, they interact and socialise with other children who share similar interests. Sometimes, the art teacher assigns group activities and projects, which also kindle social interactions and can help build friendships between children.

Boosts self-esteem:

When children can express their feelings in the form of any art and craft activity, the freedom of expression allows them to develop a sense of pride and achievement, all of which help boost their self-esteem. Art is a wonderful medium to teach children that it is normal to make mistakes, and sometimes by doing these mistakes, they can give birth to new ideas.

Promotes innovation and creative ability:

Art and craft often involve showing innovative and creative ways to present your thinking, whether it's drawing a village scenery or choosing the right colours for a painting. This freedom to explore and take risks encourages innovation as individual’s push boundaries, try new approaches, and discover unique solutions to artistic challenges.

Improves visual learning and memory:

Art and craft activities require individuals to observe and pay attention to details such as shapes, colours, and textures. This enhances their visual perception skills and ability to recognise patterns.

Wrapping it Up!
The significance of art and crafts in the minds of children has been unparalleled since time immemorial. Any form of art or craft holds immense ability to add meaning to each of our lives, even if it is subjective. The calming and therapeutic effects of engaging in arts and crafts can help kids rediscover their inner skills and talents in the future. Therefore, to improve the motor, cognitive, creative and visual learning skills of your children, you must include art and crafts in their early childhood. It will allow them to develop better thinking, reading and comprehension skills when they start their schooling journey.