What kind of artist is your child? Do they spend hours filling your driveway with chalk art? Have you lost track of how many nights you’ve spent watching ballet recitals and school plays?
Participating in creative arts helps kids develop their imaginations and engage with the world around them. Technology has opened up new opportunities for self-expression, along with exploring famous art, music, and cultural sites.
Whether you are waiting to pick your kids up from piano lessons or in line for the latest exhibit at your local museum, read on to find out how the arts can benefit your child and learn about the latest art apps for kids.
Benefits of Art for Kids
In addition to keeping them occupied, building confidence, and developing their artistic ability, there are myriad other benefits of art for kids—many of which extend long beyond childhood.
Creating is cathartic.
Whether they are acting in a school play, painting, or composing their next masterpiece, kids can use art to express and regulate their emotions. Communicating feelings isn’t always easy for children, and artistic expression is a great way for them to develop social and emotional intelligence.
Art fosters cultural awareness.
Introducing kids to art and music from other regions can help them feel connected to people and cultures around the world. When they attend culturally diverse museums, art galleries, and performances, they can learn to appreciate and embrace the beauty of different traditions. This understanding fosters inclusivity and helps children celebrate their uniqueness and that of those around them.
Creative kids are better at solving problems.
Kids with developed imaginations not only create beautiful artwork; they are better able to envision creative solutions to problems. Innovative kids see the world from a different perspective—a skill that translates to many other areas and sets them up for success later in life.
Artists earn better grades.
One of the more surprising benefits of art for kids is its link to higher GPAs. Not only do artistic activities like drawing, painting, and playing music improve children’s fine motor skills, but art and music training is correlated with higher standardized test scores and overall academic achievement.
Music improves cognition.
Did you know that music lessons—and even just listening to music—enhances cognitive ability? Music education is associated with better reading comprehension and fluency, improved math skills, higher verbal ability, and better spatial and general reasoning.
Introduce Kids to the arts with Troomi KidSmart™ apps
Troomi’s KidSmart™ apps are vetted for safety and content, so kids can take an art or music class, edit photos, and tour museums while you have the peace of mind of knowing they won’t be able to talk to strangers or view inappropriate materials.
Here are seven of the best KidSmart™ apps for art lovers to help your kids express their creativity:
- Khan Academy: Kids can learn animation, art form and construction, observational drawing, and a myriad of other art skills by taking a free course on the Khan Academy app.
- The Human Body: Jean-Michel Basquiat and Leonardo da Vinci studied the human body for inspiration, and now your kids can, too! This interactive anatomy app lets them explore the skeletal, nervous, muscular, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems.
- Spotify Kids: This app offers singalongs, soundtracks, and playlists for kids.
- Simply Piano: Kids can use this app to learn and practice piano skills. They can take lessons and put their phone on a piano or keyboard to receive feedback.
- Perfect Ear: This music theory app teaches kids to identify melodies by ear and read and recognize rhythm durations. It also allows them to build custom training exercises, chords, and scales.
- Stop Motion Studio: Future producers will love this video editing app! Its frame-by-frame view makes it easy to copy, cut, and move frames around.
- Autodesk Sketchbook: Whether they like to draw, sketch, or paint, this app will bring out your child’s inner artist. It has all of the features you need in a drawing app, plus plenty of brushes and preset colors.
Bonus: Kids will love these features of the (also KidSmart™) Google Arts and Culture app
The Google Arts and Culture app is one of the best apps for art education. As its name suggests, it’s a great way to learn about cultures and art from all around the globe. Kids can use its resources, which are compiled from 2,000 cultural institutions in 80 different countries—to explore cultural artifacts and artworks, listen to stories from experts, and broaden their knowledge. Here are a few of the app’s best features:
- Virtual Tours: Visit famous sites, landmarks, and museums without leaving your house.
- Art Selfie: Take a selfie to find out which subjects of famous paintings look like you.
- Art up Close: Have you ever wondered what a Van Gogh looked like up close? Zoom in to see the details of Starry Night—and millions of other famous artworks.
Using apps for art inspiration is just one way to maximize the many benefits of art for kids. Get started today with KidSmart™ apps from Troomi.
