Why early exposure to the arts makes a difference — and how to get your kids involved

How to go

What: "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You": The Muse Machine in Concert.

Where: Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 4 and 5

Tickets: $30-$56. Discounts available for seniors and Muse Machine students.

More information: (937) 228-3630 or www.ticket centerstage.com

Getting children involved in the arts at an early age is key for maximizing learning and development potential, according to education professionals. The arts open new doors to approaching the basic three R’s and teaches children skills that benefit them for the rest of their lives.

“The arts are what make us human. The arts are what connect us to the world, to each other,” said Michael Lippert, Human Race Theatre Company director of elementary school programs.

“We can all learn to spell and write and do algebra, but the arts talk about those things that make us human beings, what we find beautiful, what we care about, how we share, and how we reflect what the world means to us,” he said.

The Dayton area boasts dozens of rich outlets for stimulating artistic growth in youths.

The Muse Machine

The Muse Machine, a regional arts education organization serving 70,000 students in southwestern Ohio, works with area schools to bring artists to schools, integrate the arts into lesson plans, expose students to professional performances and workshops and provide top-quality performance opportunities, such as its annual winter musical and summer concert. This year’s concert, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You: The Songs of Frankie Valli, The Four Seasons & Friends,” runs Aug. 4-5, at 8 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets.

Lippert, who has handled Muse’s elementary programs for four years, said: “In our elementary programs, the artist and teacher team up and integrate a lesson plan using the creativity and excitement of the arts, and the kids just go crazy for it. It exposes them to the arts, but also encourages them to make connections to the real world and things they’re learning in the curriculum using those tools.”

Statistics show that students involved in the arts perform better on standardized tests including the SAT, and at-risk youths who learn in arts-integrated settings perform better in math, show greater improvements in reading skill, and are better behaved during classes involving the arts.

“Children who start out reading and writing are in a better position to continue to reading and writing more,” said Kathleen Moore, early literacy specialist for the Dayton Metro Library. “It’s like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s critical for school and economic success — to get jobs after college, participate in democracy, raise their own children. It makes our children richer in their ability to appreciate and contribute to the world around them.”

Dayton Art Institute

Along with hands-on visual arts centers like K12 Gallery, the Dayton Art Institute provides interactive experience for young minds. Their ExperienCenter, geared toward ages 3-6, gives fun, colorful lessons that show new ways to look at the art displayed throughout the museum. The Museum Kids Club is a program with free signup that offers three themed scavenger hunts that take children through different areas of the museum to examine the permanent collection in greater detail. After completing all three and attending a museum event, kids receive a free art kit so they can begin creating on their own.

“We believe art at a young age is key, and it’s important for getting people back into the museum as adults,” associate educator for museum programs Kaytie Seela said.

Dayton Public Schools

Stivers School for the Arts is, along with Thurgood Marshall High School, one of two Dayton Public arts magnet schools that integrate visual and performing arts into students’ daily learning. At Stivers, which has more than 900 students in grades seven through 12 in focus areas ranging from dance and theater to orchestra and sculpture, youths are immersed in a full arts education for their entire adolescence. Along with these are arts-based electives, including something rare in even an arts high school — a jazz appreciation class.

“If you hook kids where they’re at, inevitably they find something they like and can take with them,” said educator George Balog, who designed the course and teaches it daily.

“Jazz is not pop music, but it certainly deserves a space on any cultured kid’s iPod, and it’s nice to bring that rich history to them and see the lightbulb go off,” he said.

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra fronts one of the country’s premier music education programs, which includes competitions, classroom programs, special concerts aimed at listeners as young as 2 years old, and one of the first youth orchestras formed in the country.

“Our volunteer association has a program called Orchestra and You, where they go to preschoolers with plastic instruments and elect a student as the conductor, and create a little orchestra,” said Dave Bukvic, DPO director of marketing and public relations.

“The DPO was founded in 1933 with the goal of bringing musical education to youths,” he said. “We also offer $10 tickets to students up to age 25 for any classical concerts.”

Children’s theater

Children’s theater opportunities are plentiful in the region, with hundreds of children and teens participating in shows each year.

Shannon Fent, who has directed for 10 years at Kettering Children’s Theatre, said, “At KCT, kids learn about everything it takes to put on a fully realized show, from auditioning to set building. It helps them realize who they are and what they’re capable of accomplishing.”

Jenna Cull agrees. Entering her 12th year as a ballet choreographer and instructor at Springboro’s Center Stage Academy of the Arts working with students from 18 months to 18 years, she’s seen dance transform children.

“It’s a huge confidence booster for them,” she said, “and it’s incredible. Dance crosses all heritages; it’s another form of communicating. Two people may not speak the same language, but you can understand what a dancer is feeling. There’s so much to be said for that.”

“When students take any step whatsoever to get involved,” said Merk from The Muse Machine. “It starts to open other doors that don’t simply make them artists, but give them leadership and organization skills that become critical to their lives, whether they end up becoming artists or not.”