National Art League instructor Rhoda Lowinger continually stresses the importance of art in a child’s education. “Many parents don’t realize the overall impact art education has on child development, allowing gains in math, reading and science, as well as increasing cognitive ability and critical reasoning skills,” Lowinger said at a ceremony this month displaying students work. Parents whose children are enrolled at the cultural center know this all to well. They have enrolled their children in many different classes offered to enhance the education their children receive.

Read more about what Rhoda Lowinger and the National Art League offer in classes in this article published in Douglastown Patch by Patrick Conti:

the-little-einsteins-of-art-

 Found on the National Art Education Association’s web site are E. Eisner’s 10 Lessons the Arts Teach Children. Now that we are back in school I thought it would be a good idea to revisit them. What do you think?

“1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.
Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it
is judgment rather than rules that prevail.

2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution
and that questions can have more than one answer.

3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives.
One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.”

To read the rest of these click on the link below

10-lessons-the-arts-teach

Abrakadoodle’s annual survey of its art and creativity programs throughout the United States reveals 90 percent of customers are satisfied and/or highly satisfied with Abrakadoodle’s programs.

The international art franchise delivers comprehensive art classes, camps, workshops, in-school field trips, birthday parties and special events that exceed national and state standards for art education.

Award-winning Co-founder and CEO of Abrakadoodle Mary Rogers expressed her thankfulness regarding the positive survey results.  ““During challenging economic times, we observe that many schools and community education providers are forced to cut back on beneficial enrichment programs, which in turn causes more intense scrutiny to deliver quality programs. I am particularly heartened by our outstanding customer satisfaction rating.”

To read more about Abrakadoodle’s high marks, please click on the story link below. To learn more about Abrakadoodle, check out its website below.

Abrakadoodle Programs Rate High in Consecutive Years

Abrakadoodle’s website

Western Pennsylvania is bucking a national trend depicted in a recent study showing a lackluster picture of arts education, advocates say.

“Pittsburgh routinely outperforms national trends in arts participation,” said Mitch Swain, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

“This area has been great at recognizing that the arts is key to the development of creative skills.”

Please follow this link to read more of this article by Ken Fibbe of the Pittsburg Tribune.

click here

Read the full article at:
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/04/16/arts-and-smarts-test-scores-and-cognitive-development/