Apart from the usual games, books and toys found in your day care facility, you will also need to allot an area and schedule arts and crafts sessions. Arts and crafts are already included in many pre-school curricula and early childhood development centers.

Arts and crafts are also seen as an important tool in assisting a child’s overall development. If you carefully choose the activities to set up in your daycare, including arts and crafts can bring hours of fun into your daycare center.

So why is it to important consider arts and crafts activities when establishing your day care center plan of activities?

Primarily, by providing arts and crafts activities, you allow young children to be at ease with their creative nature. We are all aware that each person actually has inclinations to art even at an early age. Kids love music, painting, clay sculpturing and everything else. The more important aspect having arts and crafts schedules and activities is allowing kids to create things that they like and letting them enjoy what they are doing. It also encourages them to be more open in looking for ways to make things work and be resourceful and creative.

Another reason why arts and crafts is beneficial to day care centers is that it teaches kids important values that can help them as they grow older. One of which is determination. When successful businessmen, athletes and professional are asked what their secret to success is, they would inevitably answer – “hard work and determination.” Arts and crafts in day care centers can help kids learn to focus at a certain task until they’ve completed it.

Arts and crafts can also help develop concentration in children. Instead of spending their day care hours running around, switching on eating or watching cartoons and playing with toys, these kids can learn how sit and stay until their task is complete even will the other distractions around.

Do you remember the marshmallow test? A kid is told to wait a while before eating his marshmallow so he could get more. This emotional quotient test is vital in a child’s development and success later in life. Studies show that intelligence quotient alone is not a pre-determiner of success, more often than not, it is emotional quotient. Providing an area and schedule for arts and crafts can help the child understand that sometimes, they need to wait a while to get the results of their hard work. They learn to be patient, and more reasonable.

Daycare arts and crafts schedules and activities also help kids socialize and interact with other kids around. The learn how to wait for their turn to use a certain tool, to ask nicely for something they need and to appreciate their friends’ handiworks.

And finally, arts and crafts activities can help kids develop their confidence in their abilities and skills. The get praises for their finished tasks and they learn to be proud of what they can do.

For more info: How to start a daycare