One of the first approaches that children have to the world of art is through crafts, that is, any activity that involves work done with the hands (which may include the use of some tools such as scissors, brushes or glue). Although they are generally perceived as an educational or recreational activity, their benefits have a much deeper background than we imagine. Next, we explain how important it is, for day-to-day activities, to make crafts and what benefits it provides.
- Boost creativity. The purpose of manual work is to create a work, so that children come into contact with various materials and learn and internalize the expressive possibilities of colors and figures. In turn, crafts manage to activate aspects such as imagination and creativity, helping their development.
- To promote teamwork. Doing crafts with children can be a good time to promote teamwork and collaboration. For example, painting a mural among the whole family can encourage everyone to participate and contribute their part. Thanks to the division of tasks and communication, they will be able to learn what teamwork is and the advantages and benefits of knowing how to work together.
- Increase self-esteem and self-confidence. Carrying out new and different tasks can be challenging for children. That is why, after achieving it, by being able to overcome obstacles, the child's self-esteem and self-confidence will increase. In addition, the freedom that art is characterized by offers an acceptance of everything that the child can do, without having to classify it as good or bad. And this will also help you to gain self-confidence and to be able to express his feelings and emotions without having to feel pressure for an external judgment.
- Work memory. Taking different and new materials, as well as textures and tools, will help our brain to focus on the activity to be carried out, getting out of the mechanical, promoting and enhancing adaptability and, also, creating new memories.
- Increase concentration. Manual activities require, to a great extent, our attention. While we do them, our brain is not able to process other information, which leads to increased concentration. In this way, the child is encouraged to focus on an activity, an action.
- Work patience. Completing a craft can take more than a couple of minutes. Sometimes, there are crafts that require waiting time before proceeding, such as a coat of paint or glue to dry, which makes these, crafts, an ideal activity to work on aspects such as patience.
- Improve communication. Art and craft activities create the perfect opportunity to communicate in a healthy way with other children or with family. They can also serve to express emotional and sentimental aspects that would otherwise be very difficult. For example, paint can be used to let the child draw out and say what he or she would not dare or could not otherwise. Even crafts can be a help when it comes to enhancing communication, since aspects such as reading and writing can be improved, for example, thanks to sensory writing.
- Work on problem solving. Solving problems is an activity that is useful throughout life. Being able to handle frustration when faced with a challenge should be a skill our children acquire. In this sense, crafts can represent a challenge for children who lack certain natural abilities, such as coordination or creativity; even with crafts you can work on learning solutions to certain problems. In turn, all this will help to strengthen the character of children.
As we have seen, crafts, in addition to being a child's first approach to fine arts, can provide us with important information about what abilities our children can have, how we should work on their emotional intelligence, what they should enhance, how they are doing. being the mental development of the child and, most importantly, what they feel.
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