Arts & Crafts for Kids – Why is art important for Preschoolers

One
of the biggest reasons that art is important for your preschooler is that
it assists in the building of healthy self-esteem. In the early preschool
years, your child is in a stage of psychological development that focuses
greatly on learning to take pride in him or her self. This means that
it’s a critical time for development of self-esteem by doing things
that he or she can be proud of. When your preschooler is engaged in a
focused art activity which he or she completes, resulting in a product
that you express pride in (the picture that you hang on the refrigerator,
the cardboard sculpture that you display on your coffee table), you’re
setting the foundation of your child’s good self-esteem.

But the result
isn’t all that’s important, meaning that it’s not just
the creation of art projects that matters. The entire process of creating
art is important because it stimulates the creativity and encourages imagination
in a way that will influence your child for the rest of his or her life.
So, some of the art that your preschooler enjoys should be creative art
that doesn’t necessarily result in a lasting product. Playing with
clay is one example of this type of art. When you support this kind of
art for your preschooler, you teach him or her about the joy of simply
playing with imagination and enjoying the act of creation.

In addition
to the psycho-social benefits of art, art is important for preschoolers
because it assists in building important motor skills and improves overall
learning. Art activities like cutting with kid scissors and learning to
control crayons all assist in improving your preschooler’s motor
skills. In addition to this, children have different learning style and
art allows them to explore those different styles. If you pay attention,
you might find that your child is more of a visual learner (focusing on
image-based art when given free choice) or more of a kinesthetic learner
(using tactile art like playing with clay). This knowledge will help you
to help him or her with subjects in the future and playing with art will
help develop the learning areas that your preschooler might be naturally
less inclined towards.