The importance of art education to innovative learning poster presentation

Last week I entered the sea of acadaemia when I was invited to present a poster at SGU on the importance of art education to innovative learning at the 2019 Council for Education in the Commonwealth conference.

This experience reaffirmed to me the great importance of using art as an early learning tool as it makes learning fun, accessible and approachable to ALL types of students. Don’t fall for the misconception that learning through art means your child has to be an artist but understand rather that art enhances many other facets of your child’s life. The impact art and culture has on our wellbeing and education is immeasurable and therefore should be even more integrated in our schools’ curriculum. Shout out to all the teachers for their hardwork but also the individuals on this island who continue the uphill battle of promoting the importance of art to our children’s development. 

Summer art class with the Venezuelan Institute Grenada

I volunteered with this art programme over the summer and taught this group of youngsters (6-8 yrs old)  how to paint /personalize their very own bamboo pencil cup holders. They were very excited to create something different and functional. It was also a good opportunity to introduce the kids to sustainable materials that we have on the island. I like teaching art classes where kids get to explore, have fun but also create functional products that they can use in their everyday life! Children in the Caribbean don't usually have access to art classes or materials so just giving them supplies to experiment with, is a luxury. Encouraging young children to learn and express themselves through art, remains a very rewarding experience.