collaborative guest post
Arts and crafts are regular activities that children take part in, whether it’s at home or for an hour or two in school. Arts and crafts are hugely beneficial for children for a number of reasons which is why it’s employed for a lot of different situations. I’ve teamed up with an independent school in Hertfordshire to explore some of the top benefits to crafting that children take advantage of.
Practices a child’s fine motor skills
Playing with paints, glue and tools are a great way of repeatedly challenging a child’s fine motor skills in a number of ways. Holding a paintbrush teaches children how to keep a hold of the tool as the paint goes across the canvas. Glue sticks and PVA glue are completely different from each other and require different parts of the hand to use.
Drawing is also a good way for a child to practice, as they learn how much pressure to apply to make an illustration darker or lighter in different areas. All of these and more give children a lot of ways to use their hands and fingers for different purposes.
Allows a child to be creative
We always want to encourage our children to be creative and explore their thoughts and feelings. With all forms of art we’re taught that our sketches, paintings or craft creations are how we can express ourselves, which is why there are so many different art forms.
For children, they can feel free and confident in the work they’re making and will be keen to show their parents what they’ve put together. Allowing a child to be creative with what they make also boosts their self-esteem.
Increases a child’s confidence
Leading on from allowing a child to be in their element with their creations, it can successfully increase a child’s confidence in the process. They feel comfortable making whatever springs to mind when they have the arts and crafts out and they’ll feel even happier when they get to show their parents what they’ve made.
It allows children to think critically
What shapes are they going to make next? Do they want to draw trees or flowers? Do they want to use felt instead of tissue paper? All these choices a child has in front of them can make them think critically and enhance their decision-making skills. They’ll feel more confident with their artwork as they grow older thanks to being able to think critically in their younger years.
