Grab your seat before its gone!
AFKS is an established after-school multimedia fine art program with a 37-year history of teaching children.
Our unique program is designed to provide children with an opportunity to explore and develop confidence in their own creativity. It is an ongoing, sequential, program where skills are developed, much like ballet or piano lessons. We teach techniques rather than expression, and we assist your child in exploring the full extent of their creativity.
Find your school and register here.
Serving public and private schools in Washington State
Our student gallery
From ink to oil, pastel to metal—and far beyond!—our K–5 students have created a wonderful array of masterpieces!
Our instructors
Our educators are all degreed or working, professional artists who have a passion for teaching children the joy and craft of art. See who’s teaching this season!
Art & Wellbeing
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been more research on the brain and stress concerning art and better mental health.
Brain research shows that the arts promote mental health (by reducing anxiety and depression). Children are driven to make their brains feel better by practicing the arts to build their ability to manage their capacity for mental and emotional well-being. Recent advances in neurological science show the effects of visual arts on the neural circuits have evidence that it promotes health and wellness, and fosters resilience to stress. Practicing art has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and engage the mind in healthy activity that makes us feel good.
Art engages different parts of the brain through a conscious shifting of mental states enhancing mindfulness and self-compassion. Research shows that arts can create a mental shift that is pleasurable and neurochemically rewarding. Children are taught in Art for Kids School that there are no mistakes, only adjustments. To quote our teaching artists, “We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents.” This type of teaching leads to a flow-like state that is connected to mindfulness, increased attention, creativity, and even improved cognition. We at Art for Kids School have been doing art all of our lives and can attest to the validity of this research ourselves.
We look forward to the honor of teaching your students after-school fine art skills again.
Here are some links if you would like to learn more:
“Art for Self-Care and Mental Health” (University of Washington)
“How Making Art Helps Improve Mental Health” (The Smithsonian)
“Art for mental health: The well-being benefits of practicing art” (The AMA)
Do you love your children’s art? Have you run out of places to display? Here are ways to enjoy year-round!
Visit an office supply store, laminate the art, and use as placemats.
If the art is smaller, add a background to make it larger.
Do you want to share the art with all of your loved ones?
Reduce the size to 4x6 then print to cardstock—you now have a beautiful postcard to mail!
Opportunities
Are you a degreed artist wanting to teach? Are there schools where you’d love an AFKS program? Are you a nonprofit wanting to sponsor such a program? Let us know!
