Add Creativity to the School Supplies List

Why Back-to-School Season Is the Right Time for the Arts

Everything is new at once this time of year, new faces, new expectations, new routines. Having one small creative habit to come home to can feel like a familiar, comforting anchor in the middle of all that change.

And it really doesn’t take much. Fifteen minutes of piano before homework. Strumming through a new guitar chord on the porch after school. Warming up for voice lessons in the car on the drive over. Running lines for an audition at the kitchen table. The research isn’t particular about the format.. private lessons, choir, a musical, it’s all fair game. What matters is that it’s regular and it’s theirs.

If your child is drawn more to the visual side of things every now and then, we’ve got that covered too. Our PopArts kids’ night out events pop up throughout the year and give kids a fun, low-pressure evening of visual art, theatre, and music with no long-term commitment needed, just a night to create and enjoy themselves.

How Music and Musical Theatre Support Kids' Mental Health

Turns out, singing in the car really might be good for the soul. A review published in the Creativity Research Journal found that kids who take part in arts activities, music and theatre included, report feeling less stressed, more accomplished, and generally happier. Bonus round: the same research shows arts involvement builds self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving skills along the way. Not bad for something that just feels like fun.

A joint study from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Adobe looked at young people ages 13 to 25 and found that those with regular creative outlets felt more confident, more sure of who they are, and noticeably less anxious than peers without them. Something like musical theatre checks a lot of boxes here, since kids are singing, moving, and performing alongside a whole cast of friends.

There’s even a little brain chemistry cheering this on. Playing an instrument, singing, and rehearsing a scene all seem to nudge the brain toward calm and away from stress, giving kids a boost of the good stuff (dopamine) while easing off the stress hormone cortisol. So that happy, loose feeling after band rehearsal or a run-through of a big number? That’s not just in your head. Well, technically it is, but in a good way.

We see this play out with our own families, too. One Charlotte Academy of the Arts parent, Kimberly, shared how music lessons became an anchor for her son..

“Music has given him an outlet, a sense of pride, and a belief in himself… It’s a place where kids are supported, understood, and built up in ways that go far beyond music.”

Tips for Parents: Getting Kids Started in the Arts

• You don’t need talent, just consistency. The benefits come from showing up regularly, not from being the best in the room. Nobody needs to be the next Broadway star for this to work.
• Keep it easy and pressure-free. The moment a creative outlet starts to feel like pressure,  it stops being the stress reliever it was meant to be. Let it stay fun and unjudged.
• Follow your kid’s spark. Some children unwind at the piano, others with a guitar in their lap, finding their voice in lessons, or losing themselves in a scene. There’s no wrong door into creativity, so let them pick.
• Cheer for the arts at school. If your child’s arts programming is ever on the chopping block, you now have some solid research in your back pocket to make the case for keeping it.

Starting a new school year is a big deal for kids, even when it looks like just another Tuesday morning. Carving out a little space for music or musical theatre, however small or silly, is a genuinely joyful way to help them feel steady, confident, and like themselves as the year gets going.

If you’re looking for a place to start, Charlotte Academy of the Arts offers voice lessons, guitar lessons, piano lessons, and musical theatre classes at our Matthews studio. We’d love to have your child join us this year!