Drawing Them In
Written By Ann P. Lewis
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Artist in Residence: The Early Years
There's no set schedule for human development. Some of us can walk and chew gum when we're 4. Some of us never can. Still, we found this progression of childhood art motifs in classic research by Rhoda Kellogg, Viktor Lowenfeld, and W. Lambert Brittain to be quite interesting. (Please take those age ranges with a heap of salt.)
And even before children begin making art with pencils, crayons, and the like, they are creating artwork: A swipe of pudding on the high chair, a pudgy hand raking the sand, a stick scraping through the dirt, it all says, "I can make something appear out of nowhere."
Random Scribbles, 12 to 30 months
As soon as they learn to hold a pen and make marks on paper, kids are likely to experience "kinesthetic enjoyment," the pleasure of moving around and making marks. Their marks are typically random and disordered, made with the whole hand and arm, and are likely to extend off the paper. Or off the wall.
Controlled Scribbles, 30 months to 3 years
Now a child begins to use wrist motions, control her marks, make them smaller, and keep them mostly on the paper. Or on the wall.
Named Scribbles, 3 to 4 1/2 years
Kids start to hold crayons with their fingers rather than their fists, make a variety of lines and shapes, and tell you what they are. Kids are also apt to "narrate," announcing as they draw that, say, a squiggle is actually Aunt Kate dancing with Uncle Al. It's a step toward connecting pictures and things.
Preschematic, 4 1/2 to 7 years
Squiggles, circles, and spirals start to develop into symbols that represent things, as well as self-portraits. These new figures, resembling tadpoles and such, may not be in proportion or even strike you as actual objects, but kids are learning that their pictures say something to others, and to value their product.
Schematic, 7 to 9 years
Those symbols start to appear within a larger framework, or schema. Kids might now draw themselves and their family on a baseline, and include the sky. Their colors get more realistic, but still don't expect to be able to recognize who's Aunt Kate and who's Uncle Al.
A Good Read
It's Not a Bird Yet: The Drama of Drawing, by Ursula Kolbe, blends the theoretical — how children observe the world, how they draw based on what they're seeing, and how parents can participate in that — with great practical tips on how to create a studio for kids. (Peppinot Press, $40)
Fun Sort-of Fact
Picasso allegedly said that it took him a few years to learn how to draw like Raphael, but a lifetime to draw like a child.
Plus: Browse the best art supplies for kids
