1. Open- ended Art and its impact
in other areas of learning
Rebecca LoSasso
SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and
Learning
Kendall College
2. Overview of the Strategy
Does open-ended Art enhance other areas of
learning?
In early childhood a variety of art promotes literacy
and brain development. Art encourages Cognitive
Development, Physical development, Social and
Emotional development. Art supports and encourages
children to think and express themselves in a creative
way. Art activities help children in all areas of
development. Teachers should plan activities with
children’s overall development in mind.
I chose this strategy because I wanted a clearer
understanding of open-ended art and its impact on
children’s learning in other areas.
3. Credible Source #1
Source one discusses the relationship
between art and literacy. Art
encourages the recognition of print
and the ability to distinguish scribble,
shapes and markings. Art promotes
eye , hand and brain coordination. Art
also enhances verbal and visual
creativity. Self-Esteem is strengthened
when art and emerging literacy skills
are valued and respected.
4. Credible Source #2
The second source describes each area
that is reinforced by creative art activities
Physical Development- Art activities
enhance children’s large and small motor
skills. It also improves eye and hand
coordination. Children also develop and
practice fine motor control by using
crayons, markers and paint brushes.
Language Development- Art encourages
children to develop language skills by
discussing and describing their art work
to a teacher or friend.
Social Development- Children learn to
work together, interact together as well
as how to clean-up and care for materials
by learning to put them where they
belong in the classroom.
Emotional Development- Through art
children are able to express themselves
through their creative drawings. When
we respect children’s creativity they will
feel good about themselves and this will
build up their self-esteem.
5. Credible Source #3
The third source discusses the skills
learned through art, but it also
discusses the fact that the process is
more important than the final
outcome of the project itself. It is also
important to talk with children about
their art work. Teachers should ask
children open-ended questions about
their pictures, and use “art
vocabulary” for example, talk about
lines and colors (straight, curvy, sky
blue and grass green). Teachers should
let the child describe their art and can
also facilitate the language usage by
noticing the color and lines they see
thus, modeling and expanding the
vocabulary.
6. Credible Source #4
The value of open- ended art was
explained in the fourth source. There
are three pivotal developmental areas
that were discussed in the article.
Open – ended art encourages
communication and active expression
in young children. Open- ended art
helps children focus their attention as
well as learning to manage their
behaviors. These skills will also help
them later in life with problem solving,
math problems and also solving
conflicts with school friends. Lastly,
open- ended art helps strengthen and
refine motor skills needed for
everyday tasks such as zipping,
buttoning and writing.
7. Analysis
All four sources describes the
developmental areas that are
enhanced by creative art activities.
One source also touches upon the use
of open- ended questions and the use
of art vocabulary when discussing
children’s art work.
8. Connection
Creative art activities help children
enhance many areas of learning:
Cognitive, Physical, Language, Social
and Emotional development as well as
Self-Esteem and Imagination and
Experimentation. The idea of using art
corresponds with most of the theories
of Vygotsky and especially his theories
of language development and
scaffolding.
9. Communication with
Families
If parents wanted to know why I value
art and why I feel it helps children
learn. I would be able to tell them how
art reinforces other areas of learning. I
could list the developmental areas and
explain in detail how art increases
physical, social, emotional, language
and cognitive development.
10. Conclusion
In conclusion, open- ended art
enhances other areas of learning. Art
encourages self-esteem in young
children. Teachers can build up a
child’s self esteem by asking open-
ended questions about their art
project, but also by respecting and
valuing their creativity and
imagination.
11. References
Art, Literacy and Learning http://caeyc.org/main/caeyc/proposals-
2011/pdfs/AnnaReyner1.pdf
Creative Art Helps Children Develop across Many Domains August 31,2015
http://articles.extension.org/pages/25680/creative-art-helps-children-develop-across-many-
domains
Better Kid Care Art- An opportunity to develop children’s skills February 6,2014
http://extension.psu.edu/youth/betterkidcare/news/2014/art-an-opportunity-to-develop-
childrens-skills
The Value of Open-Ended Art By Christine Maynard and Kara J. Ketter
