OK Young children and art Research suggests that learning art skills can benefit a young child s development Two of the ways it can do this is by providing a platform to express complex emotions and by encouraging persistence What do I mean when I say a p

OK. Young children and art. Research suggests that learning art skills can benefit a
young child’s development. Two of the ways it can do this is by providing a platform
to express complex emotions and by encouraging persistence.
What do I mean when I say “a platform to express complex emotions”? Young
children have limited vocabulary. How would they communicate the feeling of pride,
for example? A drawing, though, making a drawing of feeling proud . . . this is something
a young child could do. A little girl might draw herself jumping up in the air next
to her bike. In the drawing, her arms are raised up in the air and she’s smiling. Children
can draw to communicate their emotions, whether positive or negative, through
the drawing—mm—better than they could with words.
And encouraging persistence? Art skills can help children to develop patience and
concentration to persist in an activity . . . the willingness to keep trying to reach a goal.
So, suppose there’s a little boy who wants to mold a lump of clay into the shape of a
car. The first attempt doesn’t look too much like a car. He’s disappointed but wants to
try again. The second, third, fourth try still don’t look quite right, but there’s improvement
with every attempt. After some time, he gets to the point where he’s satisfied
with his creation. The newly shaped clay car is an instant reminder of an accomplishment—
a success resulting from his persistence. The boy may be able to transfer this
lesson toward other situations and activities because he’s had the experience of successfully
accomplishing a goal through hard work.