Tilly Woodward
Curator of Academic and Community Outreach
Grinnell College Museum of Art
There is something magical and charming about children’s drawings, both as works of art and as a window to understanding the way a child experience self and world. Just as there are developmental landmarks for physical, intellectual and emotional development, there are also common landmarks for graphic expression evident in children around the world. The more we know about these landmarks, the more we can use natural proclivities to scaffold and expand a child’s learning.
Drawing engages the senses, and children can find it to be a highly satisfying activity from a very early age, and they often feel a strong emotional connection and sense of purpose with their creations.
Children between the ages of 4 – 9 are prodigious story tellers and inventive drawers, and may combine several stories in a single artwork. Their subject matter varies greatly and may include daily experiences, as well as quests, trials, conflicts, expressions of love, emotional distress and even death. Children are more interested in expressing what they know and feel rather than visual accuracy, and come up with some magical visual devices.
Children of this age often vary the relative size of symbols to indicate importance. Being egocentric, the child may depict him/herself as the largest symbol in a picture, and color is often chosen for emotional appeal rather than for accuracy.
Spatial devices are particularly interesting- children often assemble images along a baseline at the bottom of the paper, and over time may add multiple baselines for other objects to line up on and a skyline as well. Typically, children avoid overlapping objects in their artwork. They may however employ an x-ray view to show the inside of a house, or a baby in their mother’s stomach, or a bird inside a tiger. Bird’s eye views, fold-overs (imagine the legs of a table sticking out in four different directions), and multiple views in a single picture are all common visual devices.
The more a child knows about a given subject, the richer their drawing becomes, so helping a child think observe or think through details can expand their understanding/knowledge. Asking questions like “how will the bird hold onto the tree when it lands?” can help a child move beyond a visual stereotype, like the letter ‘V” often used to represent a bird, but that does not indicate any real knowledge of a bird.
Some questions you might ask to encourage the development of the drawing and the story include:
- What happens next?
- What is behind, next to, above or below the — ?
- Is it night time or day time?
- What kind of weather is it? Rainy? Sunny? Snowy? Windy?
- How is the — feeling?
- What color is the — ? Is there a pattern on the — ?
- How will that person pick up the ice cream cone, the fish, the pumpkin?
A child may be incredibly proud of their work, so look for opportunities to praise as well as encourage details. And be specific: “I really like the way you created a blue and yellow pattern on the person’s shirt,” or “It must have taken a long time for you to draw all those leaves on the tree! You have a great skill for detail!”
Drawing from observation as well as from imagination is valuable for children of this age. Have them engage with an artwork or with nature and look closely at animals or plants. Have them describe the artwork and unpack what’s going on in the picture, or name the part of the plant or animal as you look together; it’s a great opportunity to teach close observation skills and vocabulary!
- The horse has four fetlocks, withers, hooves, flanks, nostrils, a muzzle.
- The fish has dorsal and pectoral fins and gills.
- The flower has petals, stamens, pollen, a stem, sepals, and leaves.
Explore a variety of expressions in a mirror and match the expressions in a painting. But most especially, encourage children to tell and write the story or the poem of their drawings. Or sing their drawings! This connection between visual images and words can help them grow vocabulary and master skills of writing and decoding words, and help you understand what a child knows and comprehends.
Bookmaking is a great activity for children as it provides them a place to develop and sustain a series of images and narrative, and then you can read the books together later. Years later these books may be a source of pleasure and remembrance for both you and your child.
Be aware of how much effort children put in their drawings and writings. It takes a long time and a lot of patience to completely cover a piece of paper with marker, crayon, or colored pencil (try it yourself!) in a skillful way or write an epic story. Encourage children to work on a drawing and story over a period of time, or offer to scribe for them. Even if a child can write on their own, it’s nice for them to have your focused attention as you scribe for them on occasion.
Having children draw and write from imagination or observation at this age can result in very unique, complex, beautiful renderings and stories that are highly personal. It’s a great way to encourage the acquisition and expression of knowledge!
References & Additional Reading
- Efland, A. (2001). Art and cognition, integrating the visual arts in the curriculum. (pp. 41-45, 61). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
- Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. (pp. 93-147). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
- Hurwitz, H., & Day, M. (2001). Children and their art, methods for the elementary school. (7th ed., pp. 45-68). New York, NY: Harcourt College Publishers.
- Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W. (1987). Creative and mental growth. (8th ed., pp. 34-73,). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Uhlin, D., & De Chiara, E. (1984). Art for exceptional children. (3rd ed., pp. 3-34). Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.