Access to quality free online art lessons for kids has the potential to enhance a child’s life and prepare them for future successes. The arts are integral to a well-rounded education, especially for impressionable young children. Art is more than crafting and entertainment to keep children busy, it’s a skill and a discipline. Every child in Hillsboro, the Portland metro area, and throughout the country deserves access to art education to improve their lives on multiple levels. Let’s look at a few reasons why.
Children Deserve the Benefits of Art Education
Organizations from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have produced studies that show the positive outcomes of art education. It can lead to a better quality of life through interpersonal relationships and academic success. An early introduction to art and consistent engagement with it helps children develop more fully than peers without those experiences. For instance…
- Toddlers who participate in arts activities showed positive relationships between those children and their parents, and more socially-engaged behaviors.
- In elementary children it leads to better communication, an eagerness to learn, and decreased problematic behaviors.
- Older children see improvements in their academic performance marked by better scores in math, higher GPAs in all their core subjects, and better graduation rates.
These outcomes reinforce the importance of bringing free art education to kids, especially in marginalized and underprivileged communities. Children in densely populated urban areas and those in underfunded rural schools are often hardest hit by a lack of art resources, and they stand to benefit greatly from art lessons and artistic expression.
Why Do Kids Need Art Education?
Even though it delivers powerful positive results, many school and community arts programs still don’t receive enough funding—but there are organizations that seek to change this. Children of all ages who receive art education and participate in art-centered activities gain greatly in the areas listed below.
- Improvements in cognitive development.
- Helps children understand the world around them, teaches diversity and empathy.
- Develop transferable skills that fit various situations, from critical thinking and questioning to pattern recognition and motor skills development.
- Growth in communication skills, a key to many other benefits.
- Develop confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of self.
These are a handful of the reasons why kids need art. Children who participate in the arts are well-rounded, active members of their communities. And art education often doesn’t feel like learning at all—it can be fun and freeing for children and their families.
Support Free Online Art Lessons for Children Today
If you also believe that every child deserves access to art education, Golden Road Arts would love for you to help us make online art lessons and resources available for free to kids, parents and teachers. You can donate directly or buy art through our gallery to support this work. Thank you.
