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How to Use Drawing Lessons as a Part of Early Childhood Education  

Drawing is often looked upon as a recreational activity for children. However, in reality, this is an integral component of the development of our children. Many of you may have seen your kids draw some extremely elaborate pictures. Drawing is a very important outlet for children, particularly the ones who have yet to acquire the verbal skills to convey their feelings.  

Drawing is also critical to the development of manipulative skills that are essential for writing. When children express their thoughts through visual symbols, it can be viewed as an early form of writing. By providing drawing instructions to them, we can help these kids improve their drawing skills so that they can express themselves more effectively. We can also leverage a child’s natural inclination towards drawing to help them develop into confident writers.            

Discussed below are some of the most effective ways to use drawing as a component of early childhood education.   

• Different stages of a child’s development are reflected by his or her stages of art development. Please remember that each child has a unique sense of art and its development follows a universal pattern. The same stages of art development are seen in all children, but the age of attaining these stages tends to vary. Experimenting is the first stage where children learn to make marks on the paper. As they start developing more muscle control, children can consistently draw lines and circles. In the next stage, children can express their thoughts through drawing by turning these lines and circles into objects. 
• Drawing helps children develop their artistic independence. Therefore, no matter how good an artist you are, abstain from drawing for your child because it will limit the creative ability of your child.  
• Many of us use colouring books to develop an interest in drawing among kids. However, these books may hinder their artistic development and independence of expression.  The most concerning part is that some children may conceive the figures in these books as an exact representation of what these objects look like. This may inhibit their ability to draw with feelings and emotions and represent objects as they see around them.  
• Around the age of 3-4 years, children may start planning for what they want to draw. Parents can inspire them by showing interest and discussing what they are drawing. Show them that their artwork is important to them by making a frame for it or displaying it on the fridge. 
• Your child will need a variety of items for drawing, including paint, paper, crayons, brushes, pens, and more. Provide these items to them as soon as they show some interest in drawing. This could be as early as around 8 months of age. It is always advisable to use paper with no lines because it allows children to enjoy their first drawing experiment without any confinement.  

If you have any other questions regarding your child’s early childhood learning, please feel free to contact our experts at Valley Heights Preschool Long Day Care Centre.