The importance of art for child growth艺术对于儿童成长的重要性

李全忠

在日常生活中，我们可能会忽视艺术的重要性。实际上，儿童早期在艺术方面的活动能够促进他们在体能、认知和社交方面的技能发展。

主题语境：艺术 篇幅：316词 建议用时：6分钟

If youve ever watched a child find his rhythm on pots and pans or been surprised tofind a drawing on the wall， you know a childs need to create is endless. And while you maynot want your entire home to be covered with your childrens paintings， its important forchildren to experiment with and engage in the arts during their developmental years. Thebenefits of children taking part in artistic practice are plentiful， including positive impacts（影响） on physical， cognitive and social skills.

One of the most basic impacts the arts can have on children is the development of finemotor skills. Using tools like paintbrushes or crayons can be beneficial in building the mus?cles that are important in allowing kids to properly write.

Having your children create their own masterpieces also plays a role in the develop?ment of cognitive skills like language. The effect of early artistic experiments contributes tolanguage development not only by learning the appropriate names of shapes， colors and ma?terials but also descriptive words to discuss their own creations or to talk about what feel?ings are elicited （引出） when they see different styles of art works. By exposing your childrento creative environments， you are helping them pick up the skills needed to identify andcommunicate in general.

When children engage in artistic exploration， they are also developing stronger social skills， or“pro?social”behaviors. These pro?social behaviors include sharing， empathy （共情） and caring. Whether its you who help guide your children down the path of artistic dis?covery or your childrens teachers and peers， the journey is ultimately a social one that con?tains a certain degree of collaboration.

Children can become stronger communicators， thinkers and social beings just by toy?ing with a little bit of paint. So dont be afraid to get a little messy and take some time to becreative with your kid.

Reading Check

1. What kind of skills are motor skills？

A. Artistic skills. B. Physical skills.

C. Cognitive skills. D. Social skills.

2. What can children develop by creating a piece of art work？

A. Better knowledge of art works.

B. Responsible and independent behaviors.

C. Different creative art styles.

D. Identification and communication skills.

3. How can children improve social skills through artistic exploration？

A. By working on a project on their own.

B. By cooperating with their friends.

C. By going on an actual journey.

D. By describing feelings towards art works.

4. What is the main idea of the text？

A. The arts help kids with multiple skills.

B. The process of developing kids skills.

C. The proper methods for art creations.

D. The importance of artistic practice.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences in the text

1. And while you may not want your entire home to be covered with your childrenspaintings， its important for children to experiment with and engage in the arts during theirdevelopmental years. 雖然你可能不希望你的整个家都被孩子的画所覆盖，但对孩子来说，在他们的成长阶段尝试和参与艺术（活动）是很重要的。

【点石成金】本句的主干为its important for children to experiment with and engagein the arts。其中it为形式主语，真正的主语为不定式结构；experiment with and engagein the arts为and连接的并列成分；句末的during their developmental years作时间状语；while引导让步状语从句。

2. Whether its you who help guide your children down the path of artistic discovery oryour childrens teachers and peers， the journey is ultimately a social one that contains a cer?tain degree of collaboration. 无论是你帮助引导你的孩子走上艺术探索的道路，还是你孩子的老师和同龄人，这段旅程最终都是一个包含一定程度合作的社交旅程。

【点石成金】本句的主干为the journey is a social one。句首的Whether引导让步状语从句，其中its you who help guide your...discovery是结构为it is...who的强调句。that引导的定语从句修饰one，that在从句中作主语。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

experiment with以……做试验

engage in 参加；从事；忙于

contribute to 有助于；捐献；带来；促成；投稿

in general 大体上；总的来说；通常