Creative art activities can help children in all areas of development. The first of these involve your little one’s large and small muscle development, as well as their eye-hand coordination. Using crayons, markers, and paint brushes helps children practice the fine motor control they will need for writing later on. The second, involves social development.

When children work together in the art area, they learn to share, to interact with others, to be responsible for cleanup, and to put materials away. These are positive and important changes for social learning. The third domain includes cognitive development. Young children can learn the names of colors and shapes through creative art activities.

They find out what happens when they mix two primary colors together and get a secondary color. Giving them materials, and then asking them to draw or paint an image in their minds, helps them develop observational skills needed for science. Lastly, is emotional development.

Through creative art, children may be able to represent experiences that they cannot verbalize. They may draw pictures out of proportion, exaggerating things that are important to them. For this creative art activity, we used fabric, jewels, fabric paint, our fingers (along with paint brushes), and our imaginations to create our very own ocean scene!