Art is often thought of as “something extra,” but art is a huge part of education and a major part of “being human.” Throughout our programs, we leverage art for fun and as a mechanism to help kids learn and to learn to love learning. Let’s discuss art!
Art is often associated with self expression and relaxation. While this is certainly the case, art also allows younger learners to practice a wide range of skills, including motor skills, problem-solving, and creative abilities. Here at Learn And Play Montessori® School, our students leverage art and connect art to other concepts such as math, famous people (history), and even the parts of plants (science). We touch. We mimic. We duplicate. We admire. We use art for learning and art to love to learn!
Here’s an example. Working with a paintbrush and various art materials is a playful means for toddlers to practice all-important fine motor skills needed for writing, typing, and playing an instrument in the future. Here’s another example. The use of glue sticks to make colorful collages is stimulating for kids, and also develops hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. This activity engages all the senses and encourages your child to be the master of their learning, a flexible thinker who can move between different crafts processes and seek alternative paths to realise their vision — reinforcing neuroplasticity. The impact of art on cognitive development is foundational; this is usually the time when our lessons focus on dimensions, color patterns, and pattern recognition. These interconnections create new neural connections while mixing colors on a canvas, squeezing Play-Doh between their little fingers, and other “art” activities. Art is fun but also a learning technique – we do not see a contradiction between “art” and “learning.”
Here’s how we combine concepts in our best-in-class daycare, preschool, and kindergarten programs in age-appropriate ways. Core subjects are combined with art, allowing lessons on historical figures, zoology, geography, and math to be augmented with hands-on crafts that reinforce the concepts being taught. For example, in January of this year, our students made art focused on Martin Luther King, Jr., and his historical significance. It sheds light on the significance of the holiday and allowed the kids to relate it to his legacy by working on a hands-on project, where they dressed up in era-specific clothes. Similarly, our toddlers consolidated the “number ten” concept through a mosaic. In this exercise, you make a ten art piece, filling the shape to help them visualize the number / concept ten.
In summary, art is more than a creative outlet–it is a vehicle for learning and development. If you’re interested in seeing this in action, book a school tour – we have campuses from Fremont to Milpitas, Sunnyvale to Hercules, and nearly everywhere in between (and we are opening new campuses as in Moraga). Call today and explore how art can be part of your child’s pathway to learning to love learning!
