Time and time again, research shows how crucial the arts are in helping a child’s development. According to Americans for the Arts, children who are involved in some form of art for at least three hours on three days of the week for a year are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

To learn how you can get your children more involved, read: Ten Simple Ways Parents Can Get More Art in Their Kids’ Lives.

What are you doing to inspire your children?

October is National Arts and Humanities Month – a nationwide celebration of culture and art organized by Americans for the Arts. The purpose of National Arts and Humanities Month is to bring people together and to help expand awareness of the importance of art in our daily lives.

Throughout the month of October, a variety of events will be taking place across the country, giving people a chance to experience and participate in art related activities in their local communities. A full listing of events can be found on the National Arts and Humanities Events Map.

School is back in session and we all have hopes of learning successes. Those of us who support ART in school as an important part of learning support many programs that promote ART as a key tool for learning.

Bette Fetter, CEO and Founder of Young Rembrandt’s Inc. comments “There is a lot of talk in the media and education community of the need to better develop our nation’s children for the future that lies ahead. Old education methods of memorization and the development of linear thinking skills is not enough. While we need left-brain organization and thinking skills, it is critical we develop innovation, skill-based creativity and critical thinking skills in our children.”

Read more about the Young Rembrandt’s focus on art and learning and see if it might be something for your school.

http://Power of Art

Parents of the children at Highland Park Elementary in Salt Lake City are joining forces in an attempt to preserve their art programs. After the $16 million program faced severe budget cuts last year, parents are afraid the program may shut down if the state passes further budget cuts this year.

The Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, founded by one of Utah’s leading philanthropists, utilizes the Art Works for Kids teaching model to integrate arts into the classroom. Said Sorenson of the potential cut backs, “This is true learning, true creating, true growing. We cannot let this die.”

Are art programs in your community facing cuts? What are you doing to help?

To learn more about what’s happening at Highland Park Elementary, click here or watch the video below.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

In a recent segment on ABC7 Los Angeles, the healing benefits of art therapy were explored. “When you start doing art and you’re using a different part of your brain, and you’re using both of your hands, you forget about the pain,” said Art As Therapy instructor Lisa Brown. People from all walks of life can benefit from some type of creative therapy. Class participants come to the table with a variety of issues they are looking to work through including cancer, a death in the family, and mental illness. If creating art isn’t your thing, alternatives such as dance therapy, music therapy, and imagery can also be used to help work through the pain.

To learn more about the healing powers of art, watch the video below or visit the American Art Therapy Association’s website.

In an article written by Robin Pogrebin for the New York Times, Ms. Progrebin brings to the forefront two scholars who have addressed the role of arts in education in mulitple research projects.

In a new book coming out “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education” (Teachers College Press), scholars Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland of Project Zero argue forcefully for the benefits of art education.

Their philosophy focuses on the arts being critical for art itself.  “In their view art education should be championed for its own sake, not because of a wishful sentiment that classes in painting, dance and music improve pupils’ math and reading skills and standardized test scores.”  In 2000 they published research indicating that art classes do not improve a child’s academic abilities. This study met with a great deal of argument. In their new book they argue  for the benefits of art education, while still defending their 2000 thesis.

Read more about their research in

Role of Arts in School

A group of youth offenders in the UK spent this summer participating in an arts program designed to provide an alternative to continual law breaking. Courses in painting, fashion, dance, and drama gave these troubled youth a productive outlet to channel their energy and a distraction from the temptation to break the law. Seven out of eight participants have been living crime free since they completed the program.

Said Linda McKevitt, the project leader of the Youth Offending Team, “A lot of them haven’t been in education for some time. They all thought art was just painting but they learned it’s a diverse thing. Embedded in the course is literacy and numeracy and we look at improving their standards. We did an assessment before and after the last years course and there was an improvement in every one of them.”

To read more about the childrens’ experiences in the program, click here.

In today’s world of educational cut backs in the arts, necessity has become the mother of invention. Many parents are recognizing the positive impact art has in their children’s lives and its ability to build creative and critical thinking skills.

Says Barbara Martin, Alfond curator of education at the Museum of Fine Arts, “Think about opportunities to engage your kids with the visual world.” She suggests playing looking games with your children to help foster a “visual awareness of their surroundings” as well as keeping a stock of art supplies handy at home for when inspiration strikes. Taking your child to the museum is also an excellent way to expose them to the world of art. Many museums offer activity sheets for children or art classes to allow them to interact with the art they experience at the museum.

To read more about what parents can do to compensate for school cut backs in the arts, click here.

How are you integrating art into your child’s life?

The Arts and Art education are often the first areas in a community and schools to feel budget cuts.  Across the country states are slashing budgets and programs are being reduced or eliminated.

David Twitty writes in his article “Arts an easy target as many states cut budgets” for Associated Press states:

“States across the country are slashing their arts funding for the second year in a row as they cope with falling tax revenues. Those cuts, which often happen during recessions, are a serious blow to arts agencies and individual dancers, painters and actors at a time when private donations are down and many art organizations are being more selective in what they produce.” 

To read more click here: Arts an easy target as many states cut budgets

What do Iraq war veterans, abused teenage girls, and patients suffering from mental illness all have in common?

They are all reaping the benefits of art not only as an outlet for creativity, but as a means to build self-esteem and cope with their difficult pasts.

Earlier this month, veterans returning from Iraq participated in a revolutionary new program called the Combat Paper Project. This month’s workshop, held in Savannah, Georgia, brought together a group of veterans who were able to transform their negative memories into something positive by shredding their old uniforms and military memorabilia to create something new. The shredded pieces were used to make paper where the veterans could then write, paint, or screen images to tell their personal war stories. Paula Howie, an art therapist with 24 years of experience said “It’s interesting they’re using something the person wore in combat and changing it into something else. I think that’s key. It’s the beginning of changing these negative memories or thoughts into something more positive and productive.” To read more, click here.

War veterans aren’t the only ones utilizing art to express their feelings. During a five-week intensive art therapy program, teen girls at Studio Sfumato in Medford, Oregon utilize the process of making art to overcome the pain of being victims of physical and sexual abuse. The program not only helps the girls come to terms with their pasts but also helps lead the way for them as they realize their future potential. This process of self-discovery and relationship building with other girls allows them each to blossom out of the experience. Tamika, a program participate speaks highly of her involvement, “You have friends and people who love you. It’s good to know you’re not alone. And despite whatever happened to you, you are a person.” For more on this program, click here.

At Chicago’s Clayton Residential Home, executive director Randy Walker has implemented an art therapy program to enable his patients coping with mental illness to achieve their highest level of independence. Through art, these patients can often express what they can not find the words to say, in turn building their sense of self confidence ability to communicate their feelings. “It’s also a really vulnerable thing to make art,” says Angela Lyonsmith, a therapist at Clayton, “To try this out is really brave, and art in this setting, engaging in a creative process, helps make people whole.” To learn more, click here.

What part does art play in your life? How has it impacted you and those around you?