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Benefits of Arts and Crafts During Early Childhood Development
Arts and crafts have always been an important aspect of early childhood education. Creative learning projects can foster a child’s natural imagination, and also helps them develop other essential life skills that will stay with them for years to come. In this blog post, we’ll look at the importance of arts and crafts for early childhood development, and provide creative activity suggestions from our PLAYology Playbook.
How Do Arts and Crafts Help Kids Learn?
Arts and crafts provide a fun and interactive way for children to practice things like their fine motor skills and their problem-solving capabilities. For instance, before learning how to use more advanced tools like screw drivers and hammers, many kids discover their love for building and design through simple playdough projects.
Art activities can help children develop many important life skills including:
- Creativity and Imagination
- Self-Expression
- Confidence and Independance
- Fine Motor Skills
- Problem Solving
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Social Skills
- Critical Thinking
It’s important to remember that every child’s learning style and speed of development is going to be unique. Our goal is to provide a starting point for caregivers to choose activities that are developmentally appropriate for the children in their life. The following art activities are designed to encourage creativity and learning through play, and the age ranges listed are just a general guideline.
Sensory Art Activities for Kids Ages 1-5 Years Old
Sensory play can be any activity that engages a child’s senses – smell, taste, touch, sound, or sight. When you incorporate sensory play with art activities, kids come into contact with new textures, smells, sounds, and situations without any preconceived notions or expectations. This allows them to naturally develop positive connections to materials as well as new sensory information.
Below are a few of our favorite sensory art activities for preschoolers from our own PLAYology Playbook blog.
Window Painting Sensory Activity
Window painting is a fun and easy sensory art activity that can be done at home with washable, non-toxic paint and a few simple materials such as brushes, sponges, and water. This activity engages children’s sense of touch, sight, and sound, and helps develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This activity also encourages children to explore their creativity, imagination, and self-expression, which can boost their confidence and emotional well-being.
Homemade Playdough Sensory Activity
Making homemade playdough is a fun and engaging sensory activity that requires only a few basic ingredients that you likely already have at home. The process of mixing and kneading playdough helps with fine motor skills, while the different colors and textures of the dough helps with positive sensory development.
More Sensory Art Activities to Try at Home
- Color Sorting Activity for Toddlers
- DIY Sensory Foam for Kids
- Funny Paint Monsters
- DIY Edible Fingerpaint
- Paint with Ice
- DIY Galaxy Calming Jars
- Homemade Sidewalk Chalk
- DIY Musical Instruments
Arts and Crafts Activities for Kids Ages 6-8 Years Old
As children begin to develop a stronger understanding of artistic concepts like colors, shapes, and patterns, they also become more independent in their creativity. They’ll start to come up with their own unique ways of creating things, and naturally learn how to use more complex tools and art materials.
While they may still need guidance and supervision, allowing kids free time to play and create encourages them to experiment and be resourceful. This also provides children the opportunity to learn how to confidently use new tools and utilize problem solving skills to achieve more complicated tasks. In our blog, we have countless creative learning activities for school-age children, but here are some of our most popular.
Frankentoys: Toy Upcycling Craft Activity
Our Frankentoys activity is a creative and educational craft project that encourages kids to use their imagination, experiment with new tools, and develop their problem-solving skills. During this activity, kids deconstruct old toys and use all the pieces and parts to create something new. All you need are some old toys and some basic crafting tools like a needle and thread, glue, or tape. Frankentoys allows children to practice using new tools, and teaches them about recycling and repurposing.
Tinfoil Sculptures
Making tinfoil sculptures is a fun and creative arts and crafts activity that encourages children to use their imagination and problem-solving skills. As they transform a simple piece of foil into a unique sculpture, they learn how to use new tools and techniques such as folding, twisting, and shaping. This activity also helps children to develop their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness.
More Arts and Crafts Activities for Kids
- DIY No Sew Pillows for Kids
- How to Make a Kite
- Creative Cursive Art Activity [w/ Video]
- DIY Post-It-Note Finger Puppets [w/ Video]
- Homemade Sock Puppets [w/ Video]
- DIY “Crayon Cookies” [w/ Video]
- DIY Newspaper Dowels
- Egg Carton Train Art Activity
- DIY Weaving Art Activity [w/ Video]
- Homemade Birdhouses
Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 9-12+ Years Old
More intricate arts and crafts projects can be fantastic creative learning tool. In addition to fostering creativity, these art projects can also incorporate other fields of learning, such as science, engineering, math, and more! By combining these subjects with art, children can develop a deeper understanding of each and discover new ways to approach problem-solving and critical thinking.
Below we have listed some of our favorite art projects that provide a fun and engaging way for children to explore their creativity while learning new skills and concepts.
UV Light Art Prints
Our DIY Sun Print activity is a fun and educational activity that combines art, science, and health education. This activity involves placing objects or stencils on photosensitive paper and exposing it to sunlight, which results in unique and beautiful prints. While demonstrating the importance of sunblock, and the dangers of harmful UV light, this activity also encourages children to explore scientific concepts such as light, heat, and chemical reactions. It also fosters their problem-solving and critical thinking skills as they experiment with different objects, patterns, and exposure times.
Chromatography Color Experiment
The chromatography color experiment is an exciting and educational activity that combines art and chemistry. This project can be done at home using water-based markers, coffee filters, and water. This activity demonstrates the principles of color mixing, pigments, and solvents, through a simple chromatography technique. Marker inks are made from many different colored dyes and chemicals, that are all different weights. When you add water, the dyes will separate with the heavier ones moving slowly and the lighter dyes moving faster up the paper, creating a cool tie-dyed effect.
More Creative Learning Activities for Kids
- Flower Pounding Art Project
- DIY Clothes Hanger Mobile [w/ Video]
- DIY Star Constellation Telescope
- Creative Design and Building Activity [w/ Video]
- Find More STEAM Learning Activities!
Creative Learning Programs for Kids at The Children’s Museum of Sonoma County
Arts and crafts encourage children to be creative and use their imagination while also providing a fun and interactive way for them to naturally develop essential life skills. Whether they’re exploring art through sensory play or learning how electricity works with DIY craft projects, the benefits of creative activities are endless.
At the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, we believe in the power of play-based learning and we are dedicated to providing opportunities for children to explore, discover, and create. We invite you to celebrate the magic of art and imagination with us in Ella’s Arts Studio! We host a variety of creative learning programs to inspire and engage children of all ages, including our monthly Sewing Creations Program! Come explore the art of sewing and make something special to take home!
