Our Studio

Children who participate in the arts each week through at least one full 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

Young artists, as compared with their peers, are likely to:

• Attend music, art, and dance classes nearly three times as frequently
• Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently Read for pleasure nearly twice as often
• Perform community service more than four times as often

Art education for children:

• Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills.
• Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success…
• Plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development.
• Motivates and engages children in learning, stimulates memory, facilitates understanding, enhances symbolic communication, promotes relationships, and provides an avenue for building competence.
• Provides a natural source of learning. Child development specialists note that play is the business of young children; play is the way children promote and enhance their development. The arts are a most natural vehicle for play.

Source:  Americans for the Arts, 2002; Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connections, 1998, Introduction Americans for the Arts