what is art? (discuss, in not less that 500 words)

Just been commenting on here, and was tempted to go on a bit so I thought I'd better do it on my own blog!
Basically the question is what is the pont of doing children's sticky leaf collages? which I feel compelled to answer in the best way possible, as I am guilty of this by default as the group I have been running did this activity in my absence, but with my tacit consent ; )
(by the way I'm not trying to be funny, only funny ha ha ; oD. People always seems to take me more seriously than I intended on the computer- I try to be light and fluffy, maybe I neeed a comedy font?)
ok, not wanting to go on or anything ;) but I suppose you could break down 'leaf collage' into learned skills. Here are a few examples:
Dexterity: mangaging glue and brush, not spilling glue, getting the right amount of glue that works (this can later be developed into collages/scrapbooks/gluing anything, mending stuff).
Creative/artistic: composition-where to put leaf? how many? what does the result look like? colours, textures etc.
Botany/science: recognising leaf shapes- which tree? why do they fall? what are viens for? why do they change colour? Seasons- why does it get colder? etc
(I'm not suggeting that any of this is self-consciously taught or learned, only out of doing the activity itself and the questions it may trigger).
I think it just helps create a focus- ie, We think about leaves a little bit more than we would have when we are picking them up, seeking them out, looking for trees with particular colours we may want. And this leads to more questions. Ok this is not completely autonomous, but I dont think anybody can operate in a vaccuum. OK we can spend our whole lives without knowing all that stuff about nature, about the world, but personally, I find it all facinating, and it's that wanting to know, curiosity that I suppose is important.

Plus it's something to do when you havent got a telly!

Ok. here's another way of putting it:
An Ofsted inspector is witnessing a 'science experiment' in a Steiner Kindergarten where frosty leaves are gathered and placed inside, where the frost melts.
Inspector: Where are the results of this experiment recorded?
Teacher: In their souls

Ok, I' not going to question everything else I do with the kids- why skate? why Gym? I think I just felt the need to explain something- that I don't do art with kids for the sake of evidence, which is quite a common assumption, I believe. At least I think I don't. I suppose I don't question it that much, it's just what I do, and I don't think it does any harm. I mean the question only leads to 'what is art?' and 'what is art for?' which I remember having to do an essay on when I was at Art College. I didn't know the answer then. I'm not sure if I do now. But, I just see art as a necessary part of life, however you choose to define it.