Thank you for joining us once again at Golden Road Arts in Hillsboro to talk about art literacy – and the benefits of creating art at home. The last time we were here we discussed ways to add art literacy to the curriculum, and today we’re focusing on the advantages of art literacy for your child’s home life and personal development.
Why Art Literacy Benefits Your Child’s Development at Home
Art literacy is instrumental in a child’s understanding and interpretation of art. The skills developed through an early introduction to art literacy also help a child contribute to creativity of all types, from drawing and painting to graphic design, sculpture and beyond.
It’s quite common to think of art literacy as an academic subject for the classroom only. And in fact, we recently discussed ways you can add art literacy to the curriculum. However, the concept of art literacy is just as important for a child’s home life. Art literacy is of greatest benefit when considered as part of an integrated approach to understanding and creating art.
Some of the Ways Art Literacy Helps a Child’s Homelife
A greater ability to create, analyze, interpret and communicate ideas about art provides many social, emotional and physical benefits for kids. These benefits include the following.
- Encourages children to observe the world around them, enhancing their understanding of words, signs, symbols and other visual cues.
- Helps children communicate more vividly, with a broader understanding of artistic, historical and societal context.
- Builds greater awareness of diverse cultures, traditions and perspectives, leading to increased empathy for others.
- Allows children to visually conceptualize an end goal and plan the stages required to achieve their vision.
- Supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can lead to more independence in the home.
- Builds a sense of identity that boosts self-esteem, giving confidence to take on new challenges.
How to Introduce Art Literacy at Home
Learning about art in the classroom is crucial for both educational development and a personal sense of well-being. And when the idea of art literacy is connected to a child’s everyday home life, it will help them creatively, cognitively and socially.
So, how can you begin? You can start by making the home a place rich in creative expression by using art books, paintings and sculptures to stimulate conversation. Getting children to discuss their thoughts and ideas about artwork from an early age can transform how they view the practice of creating art.
Bedtime stories are a key part of homelife development, but you can expand on the approach through complementary art projects – and we have many ideas for you at Golden Road Arts. In addition, introducing new descriptive words to a child’s vocabulary also helps them communicate their thoughts with greater clarity when considering the art created by others.
Watch Art Literacy Lessons From Golden Road Arts
At Golden Road Arts, we are committed to creating the best quality art lessons for children at home and in the classroom. For access to free art literacy content, watch our free art lessons now.
