Yesterday, Monday, April 15, we celebrated World Art Day, a day established to promote the development, dissemination and promotion of art in all its forms. Art fosters creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples of the world, as well as cultural and knowledge exchange between different countries.
Therefore, on this World Art Day, UNESCO wishes to highlight the importance of the link between artistic creation and citizenship as well as to promote greater awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions that exist today.
This day is also an opportunity to highlight the relevance of Arts education in schools. Current educational standards include promoting personal expression through visual and performing arts. With this objective in mind, we encourage experimentation with different materials and techniques that cultivate creativity and imagination. Without a doubt, the appreciation and understanding of art and its different movements should be promoted in the classroom.
Benefits of Arts Education
There are many benefits of teaching children various artistic disciplines, such as drawing, painting, sculpture and other forms of visual expression. Here are some of the main benefits:
1- Developing motor skills and coordination
Drawing and painting require precision in movements and hand-eye coordination. By practicing these skills, children improve their fine motor abilities, that is, the coordination and precision of the small muscles of the hands and wrists. Failure to develop these skills could lead to future difficulties in handwriting, typing or even using small everyday mechanisms such as zippers.
To work with students on these skills, activities that use these muscles, such as cutting with scissors or drawing and coloring geometric shapes, are recommended.
2- Encouraging creativity and imagination.
Different forms of artistic expression allow children to develop their creativity. By experimenting with colors, shapes and textures, they learn to think creatively and discover new ways of expressing their ideas and feelings.
Creativity is not exclusive to the arts, it is in everything around us. It is a very important skill to master in order to efficiently solve problems or adapt to unfamiliar situations in everyday life.
The ability to imagine is unique to human beings, and like any other skill, it should be cultivated in order to not lose it over time. Childhood is the best time to promote the development of creativity, since at this stage we are much more receptive to stimuli. Stimulating children creatively at an early age allows them to reason better and devise original solutions to their problems.
3- Improved self-esteem and self-expression.
Art is a powerful form of self-expression. By teaching students to express themselves through drawing, painting or music, it opens up new ways for them to communicate their thoughts and emotions in a non-verbal way.
This can enhance their social-emotional skills, allowing them to reflect on theirs and others’ emotions through art. Sharing these creative moments in a group is also a great way to work on self-esteem and self-confidence by receiving other perspectives on their work. Conversely, it is also an opportunity to improve their ability to accept criticism and prepares them to better tolerate frustration.
Learn Art Skills with Smile and Learn
In the Art World of the Smile and Learn app you will find painting, coloring and music activity collections, among many others. Children will have fun while doing activities that help them sharpen their command of visual language in a digital environment, an essential skill in today’s age.
And it doesn’t stop there! What if you could also learn about the main artistic movements and their most notable works? Step right into our Museums collection to take a virtual, interactive tour through different artistic eras.
In class this week, we challenge you to cultivate a love for the Arts. Why not start with this fun video to learn how to draw portraits? Are you up for putting it into practice in your classroom?
If you have not yet tried our educational platform you can do so by clicking on the following link.
