“Thanks for the time you spent at Learn to Grow. My son Nico was in pre-K and had lots of fun with you guys. It really has gotten him interested in art projects! Thanks.” -Evelyne, Parent

    

"Thank you so much for providing our program with StoryArt...it was a great deal of fun and a big success with our families." -Linnea Romhani, Program Manager, Parent-Child Home Program

    

It's proven. Partaking in creative-based activities and exercising your imagination builds brainpower. Experts, educators and parents alike are continuing to see evidence that art-based education has significant impact on overall academic performance. Planting the seeds of creative thinking and problem solving skills which leads to complex reasoning, has tremendous benefit to the children.     

    

According to the US College Entrance Examination Board, children who participate in art activities score nearly 100 points higher on SAT's than students who don't. Links have been found between students' participation in the arts and higher scores in reading, mathematics, language and overall achievement. In a recent article published by child.com (September, 2006), a new study suggests you're better off boosting your child's creativity if you want to increase their odds for college success. 990 high school seniors and college freshmen took a test in which essays and projects were evaluated for originality and quality. Then, at the end of their college freshmen year, GPAs were checked. Those students who scored high in creativity were likely to perform better academically. As a result, one of the best things you can do is foster creativity from an early age.

    

In addition the experts agree, art education can improve students' scores in core subjects up to 20%. In addition, young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours on three days each week through at least one full year are: 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools, 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair, 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance and 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.

    

Young artists, as compared with their peers, are likely to: attend music, art and dance classes nearly 3 times as frequently, participate in youth groups nearly 4 times as frequently, read for pleasure nearly twice as often, perform community service more than 4 times as often.

    

(Source: Living the Arts through Language + Learning: A Report on Community-based Youth Organizations, Shirley Brice Heather, Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Americans for the Arts Monograph, November 1998)

The Let's Gogh Art Philosophy. Let's Gogh Art approaches creativity from a broad perspective. We don't focus on teaching a specific art skill. In fact, we focus on the overall learning experience and not on teaching at all. We never give lectures or ask children to remember art facts...that's way too boring. We simply give demonstrations, ideas and guidance to help children learn and create. We give everyone who attends a Let's Gogh Art program exposure to the world of art while helping to ignite their imaginations. In our children's programs, "children" create, not our instructors. We don't "do art" for anyone and we don't make samples for children to copy, nor do we want everyone's creation to turn out the same. Most importantly, we believe in fostering a relaxing and fun, non-competitive environment where there's no such thing as doing art the wrong way.

    

We feel the best route to expanding a child's creativity is through exploring and experimenting with as many forms, tools and techniques as possible. Let's Gogh Art exposes your child to a world of artistic wonder. We allow students to develop their OWN original ideas and their own unique perception and interpretation of art. And no one is ever judged for the quality of their creativity.

    

The Curriculum. Our exciting hands-on curriculum is based on an open-ended explorative process and promotes learning skills through observation, memory and imagination. We believe creativity is best experienced with a comprehensive exposure to drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, print-making and lots more. We also incorporate literacy, art history, contemporary works and language arts. We show students how their arts, crafts and creativity relates to the rest of the world, and as they create, they learn how to make these connections outside of the classroom. We build confidence in children which allows them to fully experience their creativity without judgment (and without worrying about a grade). We have delivered classes, workshops and events for several years to thousands of children and adults.

Click to read more about the benefits of arts and crafts. 

    

We Are Not Training Artists. The goal of Let's Gogh Art is to give a child the opportunity to be more creative and to guide them through problem solving and critical thinking. These valuable skills can be used in all aspects of their lives and in the learning and growth process. If a child happens to emerge from one of our classes as a truly gifted artist, we encourage them to pursue their talent and to focus on an area of art that inspires them.

    

How Do Children Learn With Let's Gogh Art? Let's Gogh Art programs have been tried and tested over the course of several years, working with thousands of children. We know what interests and excites them. We love working with children...and it shows in each and everyone of our programs.  

A Special Message to Parents. As parents, we want the best for our children. Deciding what's best is the hard part. There's so many excellent programs for children today. And then, there's always the issue of the over-scheduled child. In our effort to give little Johnny a leg up in the world, we've over-extended his capacity to take in all of the "programs" we're involving him. Sometimes, less is more. Take some time to evaluate the programs he's interested in, and introduce them at different times of the year. Find out what your child likes by exposing him/her to many different experiences, but try to do it with a sensible schedule. After all, without downtime, we cannot recharge our creative batteries and function to our fullest capacity.

Even if you aren't able to involve your child in a formal art program, invest in some basic art supplies at home and set-up a place where he/she can explore and experiment freely without worrying about staining the Oriental carpet. For more suggestions on fostering creativity at home see the end of this page, or click here.

    

The Cost of Creativity. A 4-week session of Let's Gogh Art classes typically costs only $50. If you think you can't afford an art class for your child, here's a look at what you're willing to spend $50 on:

Spending money on your child's education is second only to spending time with your child. Invest in your child's education today.

    

For valuable parent resources, including tips on fostering creativity, click here.

    

If you are a school interested in our school programs, please click here.

To download the Let's Gogh Art brochure, click here.