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Learning through Art
Here at BestStart Stokes Valley, in the Tui Room, we value the learning that tamariki get when given the opportunity to engage in and explore art regularly.
Children are given open ended opportunities to explore a range of art materials such as paint, gloop, collage and playdough where their creativity has no boundaries. Particularly in children under 3, art provides them with an opportunity to communicate and express their emotions in a way they might not yet be able to verbalise. Feelings and ideas can be reduced to a manageable size and manipulated as desired. Movement, image, colour, line, and imagination all help children express themselves in a multidimensional way. Art is an activity that can engage all the senses.
Children’s brain synapses fire away as they experiment and create by squishing paint between their fingers, mixing colours and materials, or drawing from imagination. Gripping a paintbrush, drawing dots and lines, mixing colours, kneading and rolling playdough and tearing paper. All of these tasks require increasing amounts of dexterity and coordination, yet they are so fun and rewarding that children want to do them over and over. As kids engage in art activities over time, their fine motor skills improve.