Arts Impact partners with community based early learning centers, ECEAP and Headstart programs and the Department of Children, Youth and Families to support arts integrated learning for our youngest children, from toddlers through Grade 3. The arts are one of the first languages young children speak and are a proven way to build kindergarten readiness skills and close opportunity and achievement gaps before they grow. Arts Impact teaches early childhood educators, family support staff, parents and guardians how to use visual and performing arts to help young learners develop skills in early literacy, math, science and social emotional learning. In Arts Impact classes led by teaching artists from the community, children dance addition and subtraction, act the beginning, middle and end of a story, and paint their changing emotions. In addition to learning academic vocabulary and ideas, young children develop gross and fine motor skills, growth mindset and joy in learning through the arts.
Since the spring of 2020, Arts Impact has been collaborating with the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) to develop an arts integrated professional learning program for early childhood educators across the state called Creative StART. The legislatively funded project seeks to create site-based, culturally grounded arts integration plans for our youngest learners in diverse communities around our state.
In Tacoma, Arts Impact partners with the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center, and has been hosting virtual family reading nights featuring abbreviated lessons that parents can use from home. Download the corresponding lessons below:
For more information, or to explore opportunities for your classroom, school, or district to participate in Early Learning programs, contact Grace Washington at [email protected].
