Tag: brain activities

Art and Creativity: Why They are Important for Children

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Arts and crafts are a great way to keep kids occupied. Playing around with paint, markers, construction paper and anything else you can think of from pipe cleaners to glitter can help kids stay focused on a project while also having fun. But encouraging kids to pursue an interest in arts and general creativity can do a lot more for them than simply increase their chances of becoming the next big artist. Art can help boost many areas of the brain, and it can also help kids learn skills that aid them in things like math, critical thinking, and understanding abstract concepts.

Studies have shown that activities like painting, drawing, and anything visually creative can do a lot to help kids develop mentally, socially, and emotionally. Being able to manipulate a paint brush or a glue bottle helps kids fine tune their motor skills. Playing with color not only introduces kids to colors and can help familiarize them with the basic names, but it can also be a window to visual learning. Drawing, sculpting with clay and threading beads on a string all develop visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever. Even toddlers know how to operate a smart phone or tablet, which means that even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information. This information consists of cues that we get from pictures or three-dimensional objects from digital media, books and television.

By counting parts of a design, pieces of materials, and by simply counting colors, they learn the basics of math as well. But one of the most important benefits to encouraging a healthy relationship with art and creativity is self-confidence. Unlike other subjects, art and creativity, whether it be painting and drawing or acting and writing, is that there are no set rules and people are encouraged to push the limit, come up with new ideas, and express themselves in unique ways. This can be paramount for children who are still learning who they are and who they want to be.

Not only can art help boost a child’s skills in other areas, but it can help to enrich it as well. Just as reading can open kids up to books about particular subjects and not just fiction, art can be a gateway to other skills, interests, and life pursuits. Art much like reading can help kids learn how to effectively communicate with others by the skills they learn from making art and the cognitive skills they gain from interpreting it.

Below is a list of items you should have handy at home to boost your child’s creativity:

  • modeling clay
  • chalk
  • washable paint
  • paintbrushes
  • cotton swabs
  • sponges
  • stamps and inkpads
  • washable markers
  • crayons
  • colored pencils
  • plain and colored paper
  • tissue paper
  • scissors
  • glue
  • craft foam
  • ice-pop sticks
  • chenille stems
  • pom-poms
  • feathers
  • felt
  • fabric
  • colored tape
  • buttons
  • cotton balls
  • sequins and glitter
  • ribbon, yarn, string
  • beads
  • packing peanuts
  • drinking straws
  • egg cartons
  • cardboard tubes
  • cupcake liners
  • paper plates
  • clothespins
  • plastic cutlery
  • magazines, newspapers, catalogs
  • wallpaper samples
  • wax paper
  • aluminum foil

Brain and Body: Engaging Indoor Activities for Kids

Posted on | by KD Novelties

 

As the weather prepares to switch gears, playing outside will become less and less of an option for kids when it comes to playtime. Keeping kids entertained indoors can be difficult, especially when they are more likely to reach for a mobile device to play a game or ask to watch TV or a movie. Parents can encourage kids to read, write, or be creative, but many of these activities are sedentary. While they may be enriching in other ways, kids still need to find ways to be active even when the weather doesn’t allow it. Here are some engaging indoor activities that get kids moving and keep them entertained.

Mastering Math and the Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses are always fun. They’re mainstays at themed birthday venues and they’re every kids favorite unit in gym class. You can create your own at-home obstacle course using string and household furniture. But to make it more engaging, you can also use – playing cards! Using playing cards or index cards with numbers or functions like plus signs and subtraction signs, will challenge kids to complete certain equations or create a path through the obstacle course that allow them to collect the cards they need to solve the problem. Kids can pretend they are super spies or secret hackers looking for the right code to unlock the secret at the end of the course, or at least earn themselves a snack.

Going Wild

Animal books are great gateways to learning and reading. Animals are diverse and many children like looking at the pictures or learning about where animals live, what they eat etc. You can learn all about animals, whether it be via a book or the internet, but you can also incorporate some stretching into the mix – challenge kids to mimic the animals they’re learning about. Stretching can help muscles but getting into these animal poses can also require some creativity and brain power as well. According to Integrated Learning Strategies Learning Corner, animal poses like a horse trot, worm crawl, or the crab walk, can be great for executive functioning within the brain, regulating emotions, and practicing gross and fine motor skills. Plus, they’re just fun to do!

 

Balloon Ping Pong

Ping-pong indoors can be dangerous, but not if you change up your game equipment. Swap out a ping-pong for a balloon and your ping-pong paddle for a paper plate attached to a popsicle stick. There are plenty of other games that can be made indoor-safe as long as you trade in the traditional tools, especially hard balls that could potentially break household items or hurt others, for soft, plush things instead like pillows, poufs, balloons and other materials. These may be simple, but sports-related activities get kids up and moving but they also help them hone their hand-eye coordination skills, build better interpersonal relationships, and encourage good sportsmanship.