Arts is Good for Your Body & Soul!    [29-11-2008] Many children love art. I’m sure many of you also love drawing, painting or playing music. In fact, indulging in art has a number of benefits to children. It can help improve your creativity and increase self-confidence. Art can also help relieve your stress! The best thing about art is it is fun. Yes, with art, playing can be learning! According to the New York Center for Arts Education, arts have various positive effects on children. Enjoying art is highly effective in developing children’s creativity, imagination, cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities, and many other qualities. Kids can learn to think creatively with an open mind through the arts. They can also learn to express their feelings with or without words. The arts can help you learn problem-solving skills and critical-thinking skills in fun ways. While you enjoy dancing, music, theater and art-making skills, you will naturally learn a number of essential life skills. Art also helps you build self-esteem. This is because there is not just one right way to make art and you can feel pride in the works of art you create. Also, you will be able to learn that there are multiple points of view and more than one right answer. This is because art introduces children to different cultures from around the world. You can also learn to cooperate with other people while making something together. Are you bored? Then, why don’t you dabble in art and let your imagination run wild? You can even draw something with your family. Drawing or making something together is a great way to spend quality time with your family. Be creative and have fun! Art is also a great form of stress relief. It relaxes you when you feel a lot of stress. In fact, psychologists encourage kids to draw after a long day at school. Drawing and painting can be an ideal way for children to express their pent-up feelings. That is why many schools offer various art classes as an extracurricular activity these days. A child’s artistic abilities help in other things as well. Many researchers found that children who regularly participate in a comprehensive art program are four times more likely to win an award for writing and four times more likely to be in a math or science contest.     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)