Being Creative Improves Gospel Learning
Being creative is part of our nature. We were born to be involved in the world around us and there are so many ways to be creative that I can’t even number them. We’ve found, just like you, that children are most open and engaged when creating. When we are teaching, we need something to draw them into the lesson – a “hook.” You might think that keeping fidgety hands busy with a coloring page or activity would be distracting. Surprisingly, it works just the opposite. The coloring page becomes meditative, helping children focus, and quiets the commotion going on around them.
Since James was a boy, drawing was an everyday part of his life. School notebooks’ margins were filled with endless doodles. Art class was always his favorite subject in school, followed closely behind by recess and lunch. It wasn’t until later in life that James realized how much art has helped him learn, process feelings, and make sense of life. His career choice in allowed little time to explore these talents, but recently, as we have made changes in our life, he has been able to make art a priority and reap the benefits of being creative again.
What Does Draw Near Me Offer?
Draw Near Me offers children and families coloring and activity pages, as well as instructional videos the help draw everyone into the lesson. Our coloring pages are a bit different than most you might encounter online. We frequently include overlooked details in scripture stories to help families see them from different perspectives. We also offer art more “boy” focused material, seeing as we have three, and are more than familiar with the “blessings” of trying to wrangle a family discussion in between wrestling matches. Through all this, our oldest daughter loved them just as much!
We might look like any other site, but we guarantee that we have a different kind of style! We also offer ideas and insights into why and how art can help improve your teaching.
How to Start Using Art in Your Lessons
You don’t need a lot to get started using art in your gospel learning. It can be as simple as crayons and blank paper. It’s up to how creative you want to get. Sometimes I use household times that I have on hand, like paper plates or cardboard boxes, and sometimes I plan something special using an object lesson or making something that we can keep to help us reflect on what we learned.
Tips for Success in Gospel Learning
First, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Pressure to do something perfectly crushes the creative process. Come up with an idea and see where it takes you. You will be surprised by the conversations and experience you will have. Allowing ourselves to be open to ideas, thoughts, etc. enables us to be more creative than we thought possible.
Next, keep a variety of creative supplies around the house that you can use, especially at the last minute. Sometimes inspiration strikes and there isn’t time to take a trip to the store.
Most of all, enjoy the process. When you are working with children, tune into their conversations, giggles, and smiles. They know how to experience true joy because they aren’t too worried about the outcome. Ask them questions and reflect on their simple answers. Learning doesn’t have to be complicated!
Common Questions/FAQ About Draw Near Me
How does art help you learn?
Art allows each person to use their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions to create. When doing a creative project about a topic or concept, a reference point or a “hook” is generated. This is something that we can refer back to when talking about the lesson later. We can think about the thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions we had. This helps connect the lesson we learned to our present circumstances allowing us to draw on what we learned to make decisions or to build upon the idea.
Does art boost critical thinking?
Participating in art, assists us in taking a closer look at the lesson, story, or even our world. Looking at these lessons artistically, often reveals that what we are learning is more complex than we first thought, with multiple lessons to be discovered. Depending on the art that you choose, you might only select one aspect to discuss and teach. Over time as we repeat lessons we can uncover more meaning, more information. Sometimes art can be quick, especially for the little ones, but it can also be a multi-step process for older children and adults. As we use our thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions we learn to analyze and think critically about what we are learning. We like to call this pondering.
How does art help lessons get into our hearts?
Using art to help lessons get into our children’s heart is evident in the details they can recall afterward. Using hand motions or music has always been a successful method for teaching. We all learned our multiplication tables, the fifty states, or something else in school using music. We have tons of jingles from commercials in our heads that you could sing at a moments notice because they were set to music.
What are the benefits of integrating art into gospel learning?
Integrating art into learning in general has many benefits, including academic gains, improving problem-solving skills, gaining self-confidence and positive self-expression, increased analytical skills, and building stronger social relationships. From a gospel perspective, all of these benefit us spiritually. Being creative is a divine quality and through it we can learn to have confidence in our spiritual abilities, expressing our beliefs through art, and thinking more deeply about spiritual matters.
What kinds of inspiration can I get at Draw Near Me?
We hope that the information your find here will enhance your gospel learning. Learning can be fun, despite what my 14-year-old says. When approach learning from a positive and creative perspective that even the most stubborn person can enjoy. Object lessons, music, visual arts, dancing, drama, all have the ability to transform our gospel learning.
Draw Near Me Encourages Creative Learning
Draw Near Me helps to encourage all of us to be a little bit more creative. To create is divine and there are so many creative paths to explore!
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