Do your kids like making things with art and craft toys? Most kids do, if their efforts have always been praised. What are the benefits of children creating arts and crafts and playing with toys in this genre? There are a multitude of developmental effects that enhance a child’s creativity and thought processes.
The ability to make something from nothing is a skill that cannot be denied. It has become less popular in recent years due to the rise of technology toys like kids tablets and video games, but it can still have a huge effect on a child’s self esteem when you find good (and honest) things to say about something they have made. Arts and crafts is a pastime from late 19th and early 20th century in Europe and America that can still be relevant in today’s society.
One of the prevalent benefits of arts and crafts in a child’s upbringing is a rise in self-esteem. The activity of creating a simple craft, drawing a painting or making a birdcage out of popsicle sticks can attest to this. There are so many different ranges of capability, something simple can be made or something complex. Even toddlers can participate in various types of arts and crafts.
There are also those children who find out they have knack for things in this arena and it can flow over into the rest of their life. Allowing and encouraging a child into creating something might just be the discovery of what they are supposed to do with their life.
Another benefit of toys that are in the arts and craft genre, even if kids are not specially gifted creatively, is the development of fine motor skills. This means things like using fingers for detailed work. Being able to manipulate a pencil to draw a picture takes time as a small child, and kids can find out how to do so more effectively with practice. Picking up small objects, glueing things together, stringing beads together or even coloring can all help a child to improve his or her fine motor skills.
The ability to plan a project from start to finish can even help a child to develop business skills. Conscious focusing, relying on memory when needed, and attentiveness to the task at hand is something that can flow over into success in the professional and academic world.
So keep this in mind the next time you pull out the crayons, paper, glue, macaroni, scissors, and any other objects needed for the craft. Do not worry about the mess it might make or if the child is thinking outside of the box and creating something different then intended. Creating a plan of action can be a good idea; and other times just giving a child the tools to make something and letting them allow their imagination to roam free can be best.
Children will have different approaches and this is fine, encourage them in the pursuit and exclaim over any finished products. It is fine to hand over feedback, but make sure that is constructive so that the child figures out how to incorporate it into his or her psyche in a positive manner. If you give criticism or suggestions for improvement, be sure to sandwich it between praise before and praise after. You can always find something positive to say, perhaps beginning “I like the way you have …”
Processing of visual patterns and information is something that seems to come naturally as an adult for most people. But where were was this skill learned? Often at the arts and craft table, a child learns how to notice and comprehend how a group of things constitutes a pattern, different colors, and identification of shapes.
Thus, encouraging your child to create arts and crafts is something that can benefit him or her in manners of self-esteem, execution of fine motor skills, the ability to following a plan of action, and visual processing capabilities.
Here’s a great tutorial for kids on how to make beautiful butterflies:
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