Learning to understand, create, and appreciate art is important for early childhood development. Many schools are cutting art education out of curriculum in exchange for a greater emphasis on science and math. Art education is an effective way to teach critical thinking, innovation, and visual learning skills to young children. These skills are carried on throughout the child’s life, and can contribute to greater success in the workforce. There is an ever-growing variety of art classes available for kids of all ages. If you’re thinking about enrolling your child in one, you’ll be surprised that these types of classes offer much more than an outlet for imagination and play. 

Here’s how kids art classes help prepare your child for success in life: 

• Art teaches children to be more aware of themselves and others – Part of the creative process in kids art classes is learning about different artists and the variety of methods those artists use to create their art. This means your child will learn about different artistic styles originating from around the world. However, art classes also help your child understand different perspectives, and what the artist was thinking when they created their piece. It helps them appreciate the different modes of expression others may have, to form & value opinions, to appreciate the beauty around them and how others interpret it.
• Creativity and self-expression are boosted through art – Children are encouraged to take risks and express themselves through their artwork. They are essentially creating something from nothing by using the innovative parts of their brain to create, form, and complete ideas and images that are in their head. Art allows the child to eliminate preconceived notions and ideas by focusing on how they feel things should look and be. 
• Art education develops motor skills– The motions and techniques used in creating art require fine-tuned motor skills. The swirling of a paintbrush, the coloring between small lines, and erasing small details of a drawing all require unique attention to detail and steady hand movements. Creating art helps the child develop and hone their motor skills in a fun and engaging way
• Creating means learning to make decisions – When young children create, they go through that same period of stream-of-consciousness and are often satisfied with the end result. As they get older, however, and their personalities develop, their ideas start to become more complicated. And so they revise, making decisions to try to match the ideas in their heads. Through this, they begin to learn the consequences of their decisions, and how those decisions affect the creative process. 
• Accountability – Just like collaboration, kids in the arts learn that they are accountable for their contributions to the group. If they drop the ball or mess up, they realize that it’s important to take responsibility for what they did. Mistakes are a part of life, and learning to accept them, fix them, and move on will serve kids well as they grow older.
• Focus – As you persevere through painting or singing or learning a part in a play, focus is imperative. And certainly focus is vital for studying and learning in class as well as doing a job later in life.

There are plenty more benefits that you and your child will receive from art classes but we just covered the basics. If you want to enroll your child in a virtual art class, be sure to you check out a bunch of classes before enrolling your kid into one.