Effect of Art on Kids' Brain Development and How to involve Kids in Art.

Benefits of Art to Kids

Children naturally love art – painting, drawing, making music, the theater. Unfortunately, when schools cut back on budgets, the arts are usually the first to go. It seems that schools do not appreciate the importance of art in building a kid’s brain. Read more...
source: raisesmartkid.com

How Art Helps Develop the Young Brain

Neurosciences research is revealing the impressive impact of arts instruction on students' cognitive, social and emotional development by David A. Sousa

Every culture on this planet has art forms. Why is that? Neuroscientists continue to find clues as to how the mental and physical activities required for the arts are so fundamental to brain function.
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Art and the brain

Most educators and parents agree that the arts should have a place in the early childhood curriculum. Parents rarely ask "Why?" when they hear that their children will spend time drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, or playacting activities during the day in child care. After all, art is fun and engaging and children like it! Isn't that reason enough? Read More...
source: ChildCare Education Institute

How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition.

By: Michael I. PosnerPh.D., and Brenda Patoine
If there were a surefire way to improve your brain, would you try it? Judging by the abundance of products, programs and pills that claim to offer “cognitive enhancement,” many people are lining up for just such quick brain fixes. Recent research offers a possibility with much better, science-based support: that focused training in any of the arts—such as music, dance or theater—strengthens the brain’s attention system, which in turn can improve cognition more generally. Furthermore, this strengthening likely helps explain the effects of arts training on the brain and cognitive performance that have been reported in several scientific studies - See more...

The Importance of Art in Child Development

In recent years, school curricula in the United States have shifted heavily toward common core subjects of reading and math, but what about the arts? Although some may regard art education as a luxury, simple creative activities are some of the building blocks of child development. Learning to create and appreciate visual aesthetics may be more important than ever to the development of the next generation of children as they grow up. Read more..