Little children are fascinating creatures. They love to explore, learn, play and grow. Have you ever looked at your little one and thought: “Wow he is creative” or “Wow she is practical”. In fact let me ask you one simpler: Have you ever looked at your child and thought: “What is going on in that little brain?”. Today i’m gonna go over a few guidelines that will help you determine if your child is LEFT brain dominant or RIGHT brain dominant. I must remind you that this is only a theory to help understand thinking patterns and brain functioning.
Now remember there is no problem if he/she is more dominant in one or the other,it just helps you to gauge which areas need more stimulation and which areas need constant stimulation. Ideally a child using both left AND right sides of their brain is the optimal development. We’ve come a long was since modern left brain curriculum and are moving toward millennial educational theories such as IBL to encourage the use of both sides.
The LEFT brain dominant child:
The left brain dominant child is said to be more logical and analytical. For example: One day i asked my class: “What would you do if a T-Rex came to school”. Most gave me the fun ‘Right brain’ ideas such as riding it, playing with it or feeding it. However one little girl stood out for me. She answered: “It cant its too old”. I think by ‘old’ she meant extinct, nevertheless it was clear that she was thinking logically and factually. If your child is stronger in his planning, numbers, language skills and reasoning, it is most likely he/she is a left brain dominant child. These children answer you directly with facts they have learnt. They enjoy reading, writing and verbalizing their thoughts.
The RIGHT dominant child:
A right brain dominant child is said to be more creative, expressive, visually stimulated and imaginative. These children are also said to have more emotional cognizance of themselves and the people around them. They are generally very artistic and enjoy exploring, inquiring and testing theories, rather than believing facts. You will often find a right brain dominant child exploring arts and crafts or fantasy play. The right brain contributes to perceptual development and though art children are able to better understand the world around them by expressing what they see and what they feel.
I must add….
This is only a theory. It is interesting to note which traits your children has to encourage holistic use of their brain. The right brain is optimally developed during the fundamental stage of life (Ages 2-7) and as children phase into the inter-sen stage of life, they become trapped in a habitual state of left brain thinking due to tests,exams and repetitive daily routines.
How does art help?
Art reaches out to those children who are dominant and comfortable using their left brain, encouraging them to explore, be free, see where their mind takes them and formulate their own thoughts and creations. For children who have more right brain dominant traits it aims are refining those skills and exploring new skills.
Creative Minds Art SA 