Using Art to Teach Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy in the Classroom

In a world filled with constant notifications, relentless academic pressure, and societal expectations, the classroom can often mirror the chaos of the outside world. Amid this noise, art offers a rare refuge—a quiet space not only for creativity but for emotional grounding. Increasingly, educators and psychologists are recognising that art is more than a skill or aesthetic pursuit; it’s a powerful tool for cultivating mindfulness and developing emotional literacy in students of all ages.

Art as a Language for Emotions

Mental health awareness is growing across educational systems worldwide, yet emotional wellbeing is still not consistently integrated into formal curricula. This gap leaves many young people struggling to understand and articulate their emotions. Art can help bridge that silence.

“Children don’t always have the words to describe how they feel,” says Dr Niamh Kerrigan, an educational psychologist based in Dublin. “Art gives them an alternative language—one that’s often more honest and less guarded than speech.”

From the earliest stages of development, children communicate through marks, shapes, and colours. These forms of expression often reveal inner emotional states that might otherwise go unnoticed. When students are given the space to create freely, they often unlock thoughts and feelings they didn’t know they were carrying.

Mindful Drawing

Mindfulness—the act of being fully present in the moment—is widely associated with meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga. But the quiet concentration of drawing, painting, or sculpting also cultivates mindfulness, especially when approached without judgement or goal-oriented pressure.

In classrooms across the UK, Australia, and North America, teachers are beginning their art lessons with moments of silence or guided breathing. Students are encouraged to look at a blank sheet not as a challenge, but as an invitation—to observe their breath, notice how they feel, and begin to mark the page with no expectations.

A 2022 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that mindful drawing exercises significantly reduced anxiety and boosted focus in school-aged children. These benefits were most pronounced when students were encouraged to reflect on their emotions during the creative process.

One teacher in Bristol shares: “We’ve moved away from grading the outcome. It’s about the experience of drawing itself—feeling the pencil glide on paper, noticing how colour choices shift with mood. It’s deeply calming.”

Building Emotional Literacy Through Visual Thinking

Emotional literacy involves recognising, understanding, managing, and expressing emotions effectively. Art enables this in a subtle yet profound way. A sketch of a storm, a scribbled tangle, or a shaded face can all become windows into a child’s internal world. Importantly, these expressions don’t always require interpretation or analysis—they simply need to be made.

Some schools have introduced daily or weekly “visual check-ins,” where students draw how they’re feeling using colour, shape, or line. These drawings can remain private or be shared voluntarily. The simplicity of the task makes it inclusive, while the act of externalising feelings encourages emotional self-awareness.

Art therapists often describe this as “projective expression”—where what is drawn often projects what is felt. Yet in the classroom, this needn’t be a therapeutic exercise. It’s enough to hold the space, observe gently, and allow each student to process in their own way.

The Importance of Non-Verbal Expression

Verbal language, while essential, can be limiting—particularly for children with learning differences, neurodivergent students, or those coping with trauma. For these learners, art can provide a vital alternative pathway to self-expression.

In one Canadian primary school, visual journals are incorporated into the weekly schedule. Students use them to record thoughts, moods, and daily events through drawings, collages, and mixed media. The journals are private by default but can be shared with teachers if students choose. Over time, these journals become both emotional diaries and creative portfolios, encouraging reflection, growth, and a sense of ownership.

Teachers have reported reduced behavioural issues and increased classroom cohesion as a result. Students who previously struggled to engage verbally began contributing more confidently, not only in art class but across subjects.

Rethinking Art Instruction

Traditional art education often centres around technique: proportion, shading, perspective, and realism. While these skills are valuable, they can create performance anxiety when placed at the heart of learning. A more mindful approach shifts the focus from product to process.

“Children are constantly under pressure to succeed, to perform, to produce something perfect,” says Lucinda Hall, a secondary art teacher in London. “But art should be a sanctuary, not another subject where they feel judged.”

She encourages exercises such as blind contour drawing, abstract colour mapping, and collaborative mural-making—activities that emphasise observation, emotion, and experience over precision. These activities build confidence and help students reconnect with the joy of unfiltered expression.

This process-first approach doesn’t mean abandoning technical instruction, but rather, contextualising it. Technique can be introduced gradually, within a framework that values self-discovery and emotional exploration.

Challenges and Possibilities

Despite its promise, integrating mindfulness and emotional learning into art education is not without its hurdles. Many teachers feel unequipped to lead emotionally sensitive discussions. Others fear that such practices will be undervalued by parents or school administrators focused on test scores and curriculum standards.

Access to materials can also be a challenge, particularly in underfunded schools. However, advocates argue that meaningful art experiences don’t require expensive supplies—simple tools like pencils, paper, and watercolours can be deeply effective when paired with thoughtful instruction.

There is also a need for teacher training that emphasises the emotional dimension of art. Educators need not be therapists, but they can become facilitators of safe, inclusive spaces where students are free to feel and explore.

Global movements toward holistic education are already making space for this. Many national curricula are beginning to incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) frameworks, and art education is increasingly being seen as a key component of those efforts.

A Quieter, Kinder Classroom

Art has always had the power to move, heal, and reveal. When placed intentionally within the context of mindfulness and emotional learning, it becomes more than just a subject—it becomes a way of being. As students learn to sketch their silence, to draw their emotions, and to colour their inner worlds, they develop not only artistic skills but the emotional resilience and empathy needed to navigate an increasingly complex world. They become more attentive to themselves and others, more expressive without words, and more present in the moment. In this way, the art room becomes more than a creative space. It becomes a refuge, a mirror, and a quiet revolution.