Do we really need for our children to have art education? To be honest, yes! I know that it can often be one of the subjects cut out of school due to funding issues, but we really shouldn’t. Art education is very important to our children. And it serves them well to instruct them in art and in artists.

Art education and instruction helps children with development in a number of areas.  It helps with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, problem solving, decision making and creativity. And that is just for starters. 

WHAT DOES ART TEACH?

Visual art teaches about color, layout, perspective and patterns. 

It teaches students how to observe the world and different cultures. Art education teaches them to take time and be more careful and thorough in how they observe. 

It boosts other academics. Learning about art and being involved in the arts shows gains in math, reading, critical thinking, and verbal skills. 

FAMOUS ARTISTS FOR KIDS

It is fun to teach children about different artists. Art history is fascinating. 

How to teach children about artists:

1. Pick one artist to study
2. Read a picture book or watch a short video on the artist
3. Look at several of their paintings or sculptures
4. Do some art activities inspired by the artist

Here are some great artists to teach children about:

• KANDINSKY – read The Noisy Paintbox and paint concentric circles in squares (even better if you paint to music)
• VAN GOGH – read In The Garden with Van Gogh or Katie’s Starry Night and do some foil finger painting 
• MONET – read Linnea in Monet’s Garden and make a poppy collage or do some fingerprint bridge painting
• KLIMT – read Klimt and His Cat and do some stamp painting in shades of gold
• POLLOCK
• O’KEEFE
• MONDRIAN
• MATISSE
• WARHOL

For more great ideas, check out this website

The best thing is that you do not need to be a great artist yourself. This is great for me, as I am not a good drawer or painter, but I can explore different artists with my girls and we can do hands-on activities together. After we went to the interactive Van Gogh exhibition we had a great time creating our own artworks based on Starry Night (one of my favorite paintings). 

Let’s keep art education and art history alive! There are so many great benefits for our children. I know that I want the best for my girls in their education, and including art and learning about different artists is a huge part of that. 

We are doing our children a disservice if we do not have art education or at the very least opportunities to explore and express in artistic ways.