Importance of Early Arts Education

Early childhood is all about discovery.  Young children learn from exploring the world around them: observing, reaching, touching, smelling, tasting, mimicking and more!  The Arts are a perfect partner for early childhood learning because they encourage experimentation and discovery.  Theatre, Drama, and Creative Play allow young children to develop their own creative expression and imagination.
Creative Play helps your child grow:

​Social and Emotional Development: Pretending to be other characters gives children the tools to express and cope with their emotions. Creative play engages social development through the interaction with other children and caregivers. 
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Language Skills: Drama and theatre can improve a child’s language skills by giving them an opportunity to try out new words and phrases.

Physical Development: Creative movement and imaginative play foster physical development: both sensory and motor skills.

Problem-Solving Skills: Creative play develops critical thinking and problem solving skills as your child reenacts favorite stories and new adventures. 

Early Literacy Skills: Creative play makes connections between stories on the page and words used to communicate.  These connections will be important as your child learns to read.  
For more information about the benefits of creative play check out:

​The Importance of Pretend Play (Scholastic)
The Whole Child: Creativity and Play (PBS)
The Power of Play (Earlyarts)
Here are some creative play activities and tools you can use at home:

After you read your child’s favorite story, act it out.  Read a page at at time and bring it to life!  You might pretend to make mischief like Max in Where the Wild Things Are?  Maybe you’re the bus driver and your child is the pigeon, trying to convince you to let her drive the bus?  You can use costumes and props to set the scene.

Stretch your child’s creativity by using household objects in unexpected ways.  You could use office or kitchen supplies to make music.  Pretend you’re a real band! You might build a castle or fort with pillows, blankets, or cardboard boxes. Your little one can be the hero and save you from a dragon in the castle!
For more creative play activities and tools check out:
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Learning4Kids offers a fun list of creative play options.
The Imagination Tree has hands-on activities to get your little one playing and imagining. 
Kiwi Families offers advice on the benefits of creative play and a helpful list of supplies to stock your home for imagination adventures.
Want to read the latest studies on the Arts and Early Childhood Education?  Our early learning specialists recommend the following articles and studies: