Creative activities have a central role in anyone’s life…yours, mine, your child’s and your children’s children. While activities like dance, music, language, drama/theatre, singing, movement and art are seen by many as simply a form of pure play, the bond between the educational, emotional, physical and social skills that you have and the creative activities you have been exposed to is rich.
Exposure to the creative arts creates a powerful way for you and I to express ourselves. It enriches our lives, releases endorphins that make us feel happy and it helps us to understand and appreciate the wide world around us. It is no wonder art is shared across and held in great esteem amongst cultures around the world and throughout history.
Involving your child in a creative activity like music, drama or dance from a young age is about more than just having fun. Studies and real-life experiences have shown that creative play and artistic activities have a central role in your child’s overall learning and development. Participation in a creative activity is a key ingredient that will help your child grow and thrive both during their childhood, as a teen, and finally later in adulthood.
The most important thing is to get them involved during their younger, formative years. If a child’s creative talents are not nourished at a younger age, they often lose that passion, connection and the confidence to pick up or continue their creative journey and grow their skills.
While the benefits are countless, these five reasons alone will demonstrate just how important getting your little bee involved in a creative activity is during their formative years:
Grow their mathematical and problem solving skills
Many aspects of music, including beat counting, key signatures and note values, are related to math. Through playing an instrument and reading notation, your child’s mathematical skills will not only become more practiced, but their reading skills will also receive a boost.
Creative arts also teaches children that there are multiple ideas, perspectives and solutions to any one problem. For example, learning to bring together notes or sounds that create a rhythm is an endless possibility, as is the way that you approach a character in drama.
Improve coordination, motor skills and memory
In our music-based classes, your little bee will be guided by their beekeeper (teacher) to create beautiful sounds and rhythms. Whether they are using educative toys, strumming away on a ukulele, creating notes on a keyboard, singing, or playing a percussion instrument, as your child creates music their coordination and motor skills are being tested and strengthened. What is more, as your child becomes more acquainted with stringing notes together and creating songs, their memory will be improved.
The same goes for any other creative art that your child becomes involved with. From drama to dance, learning a second language to creating art, coordination, motor skills and memory will all become finely tuned throughout their creative journey.
Learn to socialise and to work with others
Every class offered at the Hive creates a vibrant yet relaxed and supportive environment for your child to learn in a room with other children, parents and the keeper of your little bee (teacher). Many of the activities that take place in class involve group activities, through which your child will share the creative experience with others. From part playing in ensembles in our musical classes to parachute play for our younger children, from creating beautiful group performances in drama to simply forming sounds and rhythms with others in class, your child will learn key communication, language and storytelling skills that will help them to build friendships and social skills.
Build their confidence
The creative arts provides a beautiful avenue for your little bee to learn to communicate and express himself or herself. It also offers a potential for them to uncover a hidden talent that is just waiting to shine. We love watching the little bees in our classes grow and gain confidence as they learn new rhythms and notes, perform on stage in our drama programs, sing along beautifully to their favourite song, learn new words in our Bilingual Bees classes, or simply discover a skill that they never knew they had.
By taking your little bee to a class outside their regular school, they can relax a little bit more and feel comfortable truly expressing themselves. You will watch them shine as they proudly show you what they can do after class each week.
Foster creativity, imagination and an appreciation of art
Giving your child every opportunity to discover their creative talents also helps them to understand and appreciate the natural beauty of art as a form of self-expression and a powerful energy that brings people together.
Let your little one’s mind roam and their imagination run free and you may just uncover a talent and passion for the creative arts that your child will cherish forever.
We offer trial classes to newbees, so that you and your little bee can discover the magic of the creative arts and find a program that he/she will love. Click here for more details.
To find a program at the Hive best suited to your child, click here.
Alternatively, you can give us a buzz to chat about your child’s needs on 1300 03 03 79.