Art is scientifically proven to be beneficial for children. Children pick up a variety of skills when they learn through creativity. The development of cognition, sensory-motor, and emotional skills are just some of the benefits that an art program can provide children.
The unfortunate truth is that art is a crucial part of education that is cut more every year. Music and visual art classes are disappearing from schools nationwide so schools can save money. School boards see art programs as supplements to a proper education rather than a necessity.
We are doing our youth a disservice by not allowing them a creative outlet every day. There are specific skills that art specializes in teaching that are crucial for working professionals.
Thankfully, some people recognize art’s significance and have made a difference for thousands of children across the country.
You can join the movement to keep kids creating. We at Kidcreate Studio are just one of several art programs that are working to help our youth.
5 ART PROGRAMS FOR KIDS
Our curriculum at Kidcreate Studio is one of the five kids’ art programs we’d like to share with you that actively impact communities and help children through visual arts, music, and other outlets.
Many of these include nonprofit and donation-driven organizations.
Keep reading to find out how you, too, can join the ranks of these inspiring organizations, positively impact your community, and make a living while making a difference by investing in a Kidcreate art franchise.
At Kidcreate, we’re inspired by nonprofit organizations who are on the same mission as us: to share the love of art with kids, which is why we LOVE the Los Angeles-based arts program P.S. Arts.
P.S. Arts serves 25,000 students in the Los Angeles and Central Valley area of California. As a nonprofit organization, they are a designated 501( c)(3) organization. Today, they are a renowned arts program that reaches beyond arts instruction to provide equal access to complete education for children.
The mission vision of P.S. Arts is to give art programs to underserved communities. These include public schools in Southern and Central California. They are proud of being a wholesome art program that includes dance, theater, music, and visual art.
The learning philosophy at P.S. Arts focuses on hands-on and process-driven learning from prior knowledge. The curriculum uses art to encourage learning through questioning, collaboration, experimentation, and global mindedness. All curriculum standards align with national arts education standards, giving children an authentic art education experience.
P.S. Arts has both regular school day programs and after-school programs. They work with school administrators and parent groups for community outreach services. Also, the organization provides educator training and volunteer opportunities for anyone who wants to jump in and make a difference.
P.S. Arts partners with schools to provide classroom art classes. These can be 30-week courses of in-class instruction or 10 to 15-week rotations that cover several art forms. Students learn and develop their art skills through experience and experimentation. P.S. Arts believes every child deserves the opportunity to create and get the critical benefits art offers.
Through family nights, family workshops, and their own performances, the organization is focused on developing a feeling of community and pride in the neighborhoods they serve. They even offer art projects kids and families can do at home as part of their curriculum.
Featuring a lifelong-learning attitude, P.S. Arts continues to work hard to provide an education for schools that wouldn’t regularly have access to art without them. You can make a difference by volunteering or donating today.
Like Kidcreate’s Studio’s many locations across the country, Art in Action is in 34 states with 85,000 children taking the program.
Operating under the mantra “Every child deserves art,” Art in Action offers a comprehensive K-8 visual arts curriculum. This curriculum consists of nine program levels and has 12 age-specific lessons. The lessons comply with the National Visual Arts Standards. Since the program is for a specific age group, it can focus on satisfying national standards and inspiring kids with age-appropriate lessons.
Not only do students make art, but they also learn to appreciate and discuss art. As part of the lessons, students partake in open-ended discussions where they can ask questions while observing various artworks. They also learn how to use evidence to support their ideas and listen to their classmates’ ideas. The classroom becomes a community of art enthusiasts.
Art in Action is proud of its comprehensive program that is school-based and innovative. They have over 108 lessons online for teachers to use. Students will find the classes cover a diverse range of art from different cultures and historical periods. The organization makes it simple for schools to use and apply their lessons within the classroom.
The program gives students an outlet to express themselves using the skills they learn while in class. Those who lead these classes are classroom teachers trained by parent art docents. They offer a proven curriculum with a 99.7% satisfaction rating from users every year.
Art in Action is a nonprofit organization. Its program comes at a cost that is affordable for schools for easy implementation. There is an annual subscription fee for schools that covers the entire program with online lesson plans with support all year long. Art in Action also provides the necessary teaching materials, so lessons are easier after purchase.
Schools that may not be able to afford Art in Action can use The Art in Action Scholarship Fund, which provides selected schools in the entire program.
Dreaming Zebra is a national and international art foundation based in Portland, Oregon. It is a 501( c)(3) charity supporting children and young adults with art education. Dreaming Zebra celebrates individuality through art. The core of the organization’s beliefs is that every child deserves to have an art education, regardless of their socio-economic background.
Dreaming Zebra makes art accessible to everyone through their free art and music materials to schools and communities. The organization is proud to make art available to children around the country and the world. Supporters of the organization have a passion for education, community, and the environment. They donate money to supply the art materials that students will use.
In 2016, Dreaming Zebra provided 85,000 children with art materials who would not have experienced art without help. The foundation looks to generous donors to supply materials and donations to reach children who need them.
Dreaming Zebra’s unique program connects the community to disadvantaged youth through its Community Art Recycling Program. Businesses or individuals can donate reusable art and music materials or unsold art supplies that are then matched to requesting schools or community centers.
Sometimes these recipients are at-risk youth, mentoring groups, art therapy groups, or special education programs. Dream Zebra focuses on serving a diverse array of communities so they can all benefit from art and music.
Those who want to donate materials can contact the organization, or they can commit to creating a creative recycling bin in a home or office to collect materials to donate. Dreaming Zebra wants to remind people that even the simplest of items can inspire creativity. Materials like paper plates, buttons, yarn, pencils, or beads can be the starting point for a child’s creative endeavor.
As one of the most well-known organizations on our list, Create Now stands by the mission of “empowering youth through arts education and mentoring.”
Currently serving 49,122 youth with their programs—GreenNonprofits awarded Create Now with the rating of “Best Charity to Donate to in Los Angeles”.
Beginning in 1996, Create Now works with children as young as three and adults as old as 24. Their programs include art, music, writing, performance, digital media, fashion design, and even culinary arts. Create Now is a program for at-risk children from low-income families and focuses on foster youth and the homeless.
Their mission is to empower the youth and young adults through art with a variety of programs. They want to use arts to help children learn skills that will lead them out of their challenging socio-economic situations and into careers.
Often, their students range from children who are neglected, victims of domestic violence, sex trafficking. Or orphaned. It is an organization focusing on creating opportunities for youth who need the most help.
Create Now is active in homeless shelters, foster group homes, schools, rehab centers, or other nonprofit organizations throughout Southern California. These are the youth partner agencies where volunteers for Create Now help develop and teach the youth curriculum.
This foundation also has programs focusing on ending violence in poverty-stricken neighborhoods and events like their Cultural Journeys, where the youth they serve can attend concerts or plays. They even have career days where professionals will talk to their students about their jobs.
Kids learn the skills they need to build successful futures through their arts education. Create Now believes that these kids have lives that can change for the better, and they also help to paint a picture of a brighter future. Their work creates opportunities, character, and creativity for children.
BRING CREATIVITY TO YOUR COMMUNITY WITH A KIDCREATE STUDIO ART FRANCHISE
Of these five amazing programs dedicated to bringing art to youth in diverse communities across America, Kidcreate Studio is the only one that allows entrepreneurs to make a difference while building a business. As an art franchise geared toward educating kids and inspiring creativity through a robust, exciting curriculum, Kidcreate Studio makes it easy for you to fulfill your dreams of business ownership while making a difference in the lives of the children in your community at the same time.
If you would like to own a Kidcreate Studio art franchise, now’s the time to get started! With kids’ activities making a huge comeback for 2021, community schools, camps, and child care centers are more in need of quality programming than ever before!
We’re excited to start you on your journey of making a difference for kids through art. Visit our franchise website for more info.