Preschool programs often use arts and crafts as a part of their curriculum. This is much more than a fun activity that will keep the young ones engaged and gives you a nice keepsake to have at home. The crafts support a well-rounded childhood development in a few ways.

Why Preschool Programs Use Arts & Crafts

1. Honing Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are the ability to make controlled movements with the small muscles in the hands and wrists. Arts and crafts require your young one to use those muscles, which builds strength and teaches them how to control those movements. For example, they’ll use scissors to cut along a line or use a crayon to fill in a picture, which requires precision.

2. Fostering Creativity

Art encourages your child to explore their creativity. They can use the crafts to express their feelings, which teaches them how to cope with those feelings.

They are encouraged to create art in their own way, try new materials, and think outside of the box.

This builds their self-confidence, as they see that what they think and do has value. You can reinforce this by complementing their work and pointing out unique details in each piece.

3. Building Literacy Skills

Talking about what they’re doing provides the perfect opportunity to build their literacy and communication skills. For example, you’ll build their vocabulary by teaching them new words for shapes, colors, and actions.

By seeing and working with these concepts as they discuss the word, the vocabulary is more likely to stick. They’ll also learn to follow instructions and explain why they made the choices they did.

Imagination Childcare Academy, Inc., uses arts and crafts in their preschool programs and kindergarten programs. Their top-rated learning center in Rochester, NY, features an engaging and well-rounded curriculum to benefit your child’s development. Their degree-holding teachers will adapt the curriculum to your child’s needs, since every young one is unique. Learn more on their website and call (585) 413-3948 to discuss enrollment.