Within the past six months I've noticed he is highly interested in puzzles. He was given a 25-piece puzzle (ages three to seven noted on the box) for his birthday. His father helped him the first time and walked away. Within minutes he had dumped out the puzzle, put it back together, and was asking for another one.
His six-year-old brother has been tested and qualified for the Gifted and Talented program at school. He is also very artistically inclined. I had first thought about putting him in art lessons, but now I am considering it for his little brother as well. Would this be a mistake -- is my three-year-old too young? Thank you for your time and advice.
Continue to provide him with lots of time to play with art materials, puzzles, and building toys. You can even make jigsaw puzzles yourself by gluing interesting photos or pictures on cardboard and cutting them up. Take art materials along to a places your sons have already visited a lot (like Grandma's house, or a shopping mall) and encourage the kids to draw something interesting. These are goods way to keep their artistic interests alive.
By kindergarten age, your son may be ready for a local art program. However, unless you have located a private art teacher, a group program may not be sufficiently advanced for your sons. You stated that your older son has been identified for the gifted program. A recent study showed that most siblings test within 10 IQ points of each other, so it is likely that your little one may have some gifted talents as well. I would like to suggest the following book: Your Gifted Child: How to Recognize and Develop the Special Talents in Your Child from Birth to Age Seven by Joan Smutny.