When you are teaching kids ART you are: Teaching them an important method of communication.        Teaching them self-evaluation.                Offering them life skills.                        Enriching them with visual experiences which stimulate art learning.                                Stimulating their creativity.                                          Developing a technical vocabulary with them. Teaching them to "see" not just look.         Stimulating their curiosity.                  Building their sense of self-worth.                          Offering them multi-sensory experiences.                                    Encouraging idea sharing.                                             Giving them joy and pleasure.                                                     Exciting their senses.                                        Facilitating cooperation.                                                 Channeling energy!                                           Giving them a way of visual explaining. Teaching appreciation skills. Offering an outlet for emotions. Kindling new interests. Promoting higher levels of thinking skills.        Connecting them with their environment.   Allowing them self knowledge.                                                    Helping them to define a personal style, sense of self. Giving them leisure time skills. Training our future designers and architects. Teaching them divergent thinking. Filling hte museums and galleries of the future. Helping break down stereotypes about artists. Teaching them history. Letting them use one of their most natural modes of expression. Teaching them a way of visual reading. Arming them for the battle against "ugliness", they are our future planning commisioners. Showing them how art is everywhere. Arming them with a new vocabulary. Telling them you believe the arts are important. Giving them mastery over the tools and materials of art. Allowing them to beautify their environment. Provide active, creative, significant learning experiences. Encouraging them to document their culture, their lives, their times. Allowing them to reach deep down inside themselves and discover their own uniqueness. Artwork shown is property of Maywood Middle School Students