It’s incredible to see the amazing impact that art has on early childhood development. As we speed toward the holiday season, we should remember that while many are stuck inside, there are still opportunities to spark interest, increase knowledge retention and enrich your child’s imagination through art.  The transformation a child makes as they continue through the Young Rembrandts program is truly inspiring.
We once had a student who wasn’t even four when he started with Young Rembrandts. His parents signed him up for the class built for ages 6 – 12. I’ll admit that I was concerned that a four-year-old wouldn’t be able to jump into the advanced level, but, he persevered. Like many children, his first drawing offered an interesting interpretation of the caterpillar that the class drew together. For the first few classes, he kept trying to do things out of order. But, in his last week, if you compared his drawing to the one that I was demonstrating, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. It’s clear that students are eager and ready to learn. Not only did his drawing help build his fine motor skills, but it also helped his order and sequencing abilities.
Increased fine motor skills and order and sequencing abilities aren’t the only benefits of participating in an art program. Our wonderful step-by-step method also helps with depth perception, patience and gives kids the creative freedom to personalize their drawings. I remember a particular student who loved the lessons but initially refused to color. She even considered dropping the classes because of the coloring portion!  And while we missed her for a few weeks, she recently joined us again. With her finished drawing in-hand, you could see the brilliant colors that she chose to use. The colors, though, couldn’t outshine the wide smile on her face – she was so incredibly proud of herself and the progress that she had made.
Honestly, kids like these two are who encourage and inspire me to keep providing art lessons to even more children. Our teachers are not the only ones who see the transformational change these kids go through as they learn more and more. We have parents that call us to share how much their child’s confidence has grown since participating in Young Rembrandts. This creative outlet is proving especially beneficial with many of us learning and working from home.
Thankfully, programs like ours have shifted to virtual platforms, like Zoom. Unlike other virtual learning options, though, we don’t ask our students to mute themselves. You can see how that small difference makes the kids that much more comfortable. So, whether the mom who signed her kid up for the 5:30 p.m. class just to be able to make dinner in peace or the dad who sits next to his kid through the lesson to enjoy it with them, art is making an impact and helping families across the nation!
For young kids, programs like Young Rembrandts provide great opportunities to expand their horizons and try new things until they discover their passions. If any parents are looking for to talk about different programs, I’m always available to connect!
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