WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 23-27

This week children will do their first lesson on drawing. They will learn to draw a sitting cat using oil pastels.
Promoting Drawing:
Parents can promote drawing as a way to improve physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development-and to have a lot of fun. Some suggestions follow:

1.       Provide children with nontoxic drawing materials and loads of paper starting during the second year.

 

2.       Model drawing. Show children that you like to draw and make designs but do not model WHAT children should draw.

 

3.       Encourage drawing efforts by talking about the beautiful colors, pointy lines, and thin shapes the child has made.

 

4.       Rather than asking the child "What is it?," invite the child to tell you about the drawing. Asking "What is it?" suggests that the child has failed to depict what he or she intended.

 

5.       Forego the temptation to provide coloring book type outlines for children to fill in. Instead provide a variety of shapes, colors, textures of papers, and a variety of drawing tools for the child to create his or her own drawing.

 

6.       Talk about concepts like thick, thin, wide, narrow, dark, light, edge, shape, contour, illustrations, artist, illustrator, straight, crooked, open curve, and closed curve.

 

7.       Display high-quality drawings at the child's eye level. Include them in the dramatic play, book, and block areas as well as in the art center.

 

8.       Play beautiful music to accompany drawing. Talk about how the tempo of music changes the drawings.

 

9.       Give children the freedom to choose the subjects and colors of their drawings. We should not dictate how to draw or how to color the child's project. If we do that, it becomes the adult's project which the child is forced to emulate.

 

10.    Rather than drawing for the child, ask helpful questions and make suggestions. Encourage children's efforts and voice confidence in their ability to solve their drawing problems.

The simple act of drawing does indeed play an important role in a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Like no other activity, drawing allows young children to express emotions, experience autonomy, and build confidence. Unfortunately, as they grow older, children lose their confidence in and enthusiasm for the one activity that can give so much pleasure. The next time you see a child scribbling with a marker or splattering paint onto a canvas, stop, admire, and praise his or her work. Who knows, your words of encouragement may inspire a future artist.