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Reasons why parents should teach art to their children
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Teach your kids how to drawWritten by: Jacob Lett
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Reasons why parents should teach art to their children
A fun way to spend time with your child
Completing an art project at home is a great way to have fun with your child. For preschoolers, play is their work and art is a great form of play. Play is activity centered around using your imagination and creativity to make-believe. As you look at or create art your body releases endorphins which causes you to relax and enjoy your activity. Creating art at home is a great way to spend time with your child as you talk and explain the world around them.
Historical perspective
For the majority of history, art and craft was taught by parents as a way to make useful things for survival. In the Bible you can find numerous jobs relating to art such as: carpenter, embroider, architect, engraver, gardener, harpist, poet, potter, tent maker, and writer. These artisans (a worker in a skilled trade making things by hand) would use their creativity and hands to make something beautiful for others to use and enjoy. Formal art education wasn’t seen in schools until after the industrial revolution in the 1920’s. An organized education system was developed in response to a rise in promoting moral and civic virtue of society. This history shows how integral art is to the artist as well as to the greater good of the whole of society.
Technology and distractions
As you know children love games, movies, and cartoons. This media consumption used to be focused on the television but now we have more ways to watch and on an assortment of screen sizes. I agree technology makes things easier, faster, and sometimes less stressful. I also believe they make things more complicated and rob children of their creativity by giving them permission to be passive and entertained. I have seen a lot of drawing apps marketed to children that give a poor representation of drawing. Drawing is tactile and you need to feel, smell, and hear as you draw. This can never be replicated in a digital format.
Young adults could also learn a trade from a master craftsman in the form of an apprenticeship. The apprentice would receive food and training in exchange for their labor. How would you like to have their student loan debt?
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Education system
Today’s teachers have a difficult job. They are responsible for teaching students subject material, proper behavior, and social skills. In addition, with each new piece of technology, a teacher has a new distraction to contend with. In 2001, our government passed the No Child Left Behind Act. This requires teachers and schools to bring students to their learning levels regardless of how far behind they are. I think it is an unrealistic expectation to have a teacher bring a child two or three years behind up to speed let alone be responsible for their education.
As a Christian I believe the parents are the most important factor in raising children. In the Bible it instructs parents to “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” It is the parents responsibility to support and supplement what is being taught in the school.
In Ten Lessons the Arts Teach, E.W. Eisner states “The emphasis and time given to a particular school subject sends a message to students about how important that subject is in life.” An average school day lasts six hours and is divided between multiple subjects. This equally distributed school day makes it hard to add extra time and emphasis and thus makes it hard for a child to identify what is most important. By supplemental teaching at home you can help your child identify what is most important in life. You will also be able to give your child real-world application of the knowledge they learned at school and give them a new perspective on that same subject.
Therefore, teaching art to your child will show them to place a high importance on their creativity. They will grow to appreciate their unique creative abilities and those of others. As well as, build strong character traits from learning to overcome creative obstacles and to think creatively.
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Coming soon!
Creating Character
The following pages are a sample of the art curriculum I am currently working on titled Creating Character. As the title suggests, I believe art is a great way to develop strong character in children. Though many parents dismiss art and make it a low priority in the home, art education can develop skills beneficial for success in school and adulthood. The skills learned in this curriculum will help your child enjoy learning, think creatively, persevere through challenges, and work towards attaining a vision.
The Creating Character curriculum identifies the five stages of drawing development in children and provides a workbook of lessons for each stage. This will help parents keep pace with their child as they progress through the stages of drawing development. Each level provides a warmup activity, skills worksheets, and a final art project.
To receive updates on the progress of the curriculum please subscribe to our email list or like us on Facebook.
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Adapted from the findings of Viktor Lowenfeld and Betty Edwards.
Age Art Development Stage Curriculum Level
1 – 2 years
Scribble Stage
Disordered scribbles are examples of your child getting familiar with using the materials and not actually portraying their visual world. Starting at age one-and-a-half random scribbles quickly take on defined shapes. Circular scribbles and shapes are most common because of how natural the movement is.
Primary level
Begin by introducing your child to art materials such as: paper and crayons, finger paints, play dough, and simple craft projects that don’t require cutting with scissors. There are no formal lessons required for this age, just time for creative exploration and play.
3 – 5 years
Symbol Stage
After exploring scribbling your child will move onto understand how something drawn can symbolize something real. Drawings will have circles to represent a head and two vertical lines for legs.
Level 1
Your child will learn to be enthusiastic and build confidence using art materials. Lessons will also help your child learn the three building blocks of drawing: drawing lines, connecting lines to make shapes, and then filling in these shapes in with color.
6 – 7 years
Landscape Stage
The drawings will now begin to define an environment with a ground line and a sun. Drawings will also show a concern for placement of symbols. Your child now plans their drawings and has a clear way of portraying a person or thing.
Level 2
Your child will begin to use symbols to help them communicate in their drawings. An understanding of texture, value, and color will help them add detail and complexity to their drawings.
8 – 9 years
Comparison Stage
Your child will now begin to try for more detail as they strive for greater realism. Concern for where things are in their drawings is replaced by concern for how things look. You will notice more detailed drawings with an emphasis on individual parts. A huge milestone is the introduction of a horizon line as they learn the relationship of objects in space.
Level 3
By learning observation techniques your child will be able to add more detail and realism to their drawings. Your child will also understand dimension and how relationships between objects can create a sense of depth in their drawings.
Point of Decision: Child decides whether art is something they want to continue pursuing
10 – 12+ years
Realism Stage
The thoughts of “This doesn’t look right” or “This does not look real” are prominent as they learn to draw what they really see with their eye. Your child is aware of their desire to draw realism and compare themselves to other students and professional artists. This comparison can make some feel inadequate and decide to stop pursuing art.
Level 4
Your child will learn how to make their drawings more realistic by observing their environment. Lessons will explore drawing faces, people, landscapes, and still life.
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Line Introduction
LineAges 3 – 5
Section outline
• Warmup: Pencil grip practice
• Worksheet: Draw different types of lines
• Worksheet: Draw light & dark lines
• Worksheet: 12 copy this drawing
• Art project: line construction
• Observation
• Bonus: scissor practice
Overview
This section will teach your child how to be comfortable drawing with a pencil in their hand. Your child will then practice drawing straight, curved, angled, looped, and dotted lines. They will also learn how to draw dark and light lines by changing the amount of pressure they apply with their pencil.
Art supplies needed for this section
• Black charcoal or chalk
• Blank white paper
• Cheerios cereal
• Child safe scissors
• Construction paper
• Elmers glue
• Eraser
• Pencil
• Play dough
• Play dough tools
• Shoe string licorice
• Washable markers
• Yarn
Introduction
1Line
A line is an identifiable path of a point. It can vary in width,
direction and length.
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Pencil grip practiceHolding a pencil for the first time can be a challenge for a young child. I recommend starting out with a few fun art projects that will strengthen hand eye coordination. The repeated action of pinching in these projects will help your child hold & pinch a pencil in their hand.
Edible Bracelet
Directions: Spread a handful of Cheerios on the table and show your child how they are round and have a hole in them. Take a piece of shoe string licorice and tie a knot on one end. Show how the Cheerios can be threaded on the licorice to make a chain. Let your child continue to pinch, hold, and string the cereal onto the bracelet. When completed, wrap the bracelet around your child’s wrist and tie a loose knot.
Supplies needed:
• Cheerios cereal
• Shoe string licorice
Charcoal drawing
Directions: Starting with a blank sheet of paper, demonstrate all of the ways chalk can be used to draw. Charcoal can be used on its end, side, and blended into the paper with your fingers.
Supplies needed:
• Black charcoal or chalk
• White card stock paper
Play Dough Discovery
Directions: Starting with a clump of play dough, talk about the different ways you can mold and change it. Give your child permission to play and experiment.
As you are creating together you can say things like,“See how I can pinch it with my thumb and finger. It makes a pointy shape. Look what happens when I put it under my hand and push down. It gets flat. Watch what happens when I push and roll it under my hand. It gets round. What can you make that is round?”
A homemade recipe for play dough can be found in the appendix of the Parent’s Guide.
Supplies needed:
• Colored play dough
• Play dough tools
Pencil scribbling
Directions: Starting with a blank sheet of paper, demonstrate how to properly hold the pencil by grasping the end with your thumb and index finger. Draw a few scribbles and then hand over the pencil to your child to practice on their own.
Supplies needed:
• Blank white paper
• Pencil
Warm Up Activity
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Draw a straight
line
Draw a curved
line
Draw an angled
line
Draw a looped
line
Draw a dotted
line
Draw a dashed
line
Draw different types of linesDirections: Have your child draw the following types of lines by mimicking the line shown on the activity sheet. Print out multiple copies of this activity to practice over time.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Draw light lines and dark linesDirections: Have your child draw each line type varying it’s value between dark and light. Show them how the harder you press the pencil into the paper the darker the line and the softer you press the pencil the lighter the line. Draw as many lines as you can.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
Draw a straight
line
Draw a curved
line
Draw an angled
line
Draw a looped
line
Draw a dotted
line
Draw a dashed
line
Press light Press hard Press light Press hard
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Copy what’s inside each squareDirections: Have your child duplicate each drawing five times working their way downward. If they make a mistake and try to erase, let them know mistakes are okay and to try the drawing again in a new box.
Supplies needed: Sharpened pencil
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Observing unstructured play
After your child has successfully completed the section worksheets, encourage them to draw on their own. Make sure they have an inviting and creative space to draw and create. It is important to have your child clean their creative area after each session. This will help make it more inviting when they want to draw later.
Over several weeks observe their drawings to see if they are using the skills they learned in the worksheets. If a refresher is needed, you can either redo a worksheet or have an impromptu lesson of your own. When they show you their work try to ask questions and affirm their creative effort.
Once your child has successfully grasped the material covered you can now move onto the art project.
Notes
Observation
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Art Project
Line Design
Note: For this project your child will need to be able to cut paper with scissors. If your child requres additional practice, a scissor practice worksheet can be found on the next page.
DirectionsIn this art project your child will learn to explore and create a design using only lines. They will also improve their hand eye coordination by cutting with scissors. Set out the supplies on a table and tell your child how you plan on creating a design using lines. You can tell them a design is an arrangement of lines or shapes placed intentionally to create a picture.
When your child is ready follow these steps:
1. Have your child choose a piece of construction paper to be the canvas.
2. Next have them choose another sheet of paper to cut different types of lines. Show them how to use the scissors to cut in a straight line or in a curved line by turning the paper.
3. Now instruct your child to glue the strips of paper onto the paper using glue in any way they choose. Compliment their arrangement.
4. When they are done gluing the strips of paper, ask them if they would like to add some dotted or dashed lines using markers?
5. When the drawing is complete, display it proudly somewhere for all to see.
Supplies needed:
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Kids scissors
• Markers
• Yarn
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Scissor PracticeThe use of scissors builds up the tiny muscles in the palm of his/her hand, since he/she has to continuously open and close the hand. These muscles are also used when the child is writing/painting or holding onto anything with a grip.
Have your child cut construction paper in the following sequence:
• Snip the ends of a piece of paper
• Cut through a piece of paper
• Draw a line on construction paper and have them cut along the line
• Draw a circle on construction paper and have them cut out the circle
• Draw a circle on construction paper and have them cut out the square
Practice
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About the authorJacob Lett has been a professional graphic designer since 2004. Together with his wife Colleen, they started UpliftingPlay to encourage young families to explore their creativity through art and creative play. Their multi-level art curriculum, Creating Character, helps parents prepare their children for school and adulthood. This curriculum is unique in its biblical world view and simplicity.
To stay connected and receive related information, you can follow Jacob Lett by visiting upliftingplay.com/follow.
Thank you
My name is Jacob Lett and I am the creator of UpliftingPlay™. UpliftingPlay’s mission is to help young families be creative, learn together, and raise children with strong character. My wife and I started this business to prepare for our own family and give help and encouragement to other young families.
Below are some of the things you can do at the website.
Playroom
The playroom is a growing collection of creative resources for you and your family. You can do things like: download word lists of things to draw, draw a picture using the online sketchpad, view a gallery of featured drawings, and print out coloring and activity worksheets.
Store
The UpliftingPlay store contains products to help your family stay inspired and develop your creativity. Currently the only product we offer is an ebook titled Cool Things to Draw™. This ebook is full of over 100 drawing ideas with visual reference. Unlike other drawing books, Cool Things to Draw does not show your child how to draw but encourages them to draw what they see in the photographs.
Articles
This area of the website allows us to have a conversation and discuss various topics you and your family are interested in. Some of the topics I plan on sharing are: looking at the various forms of play, understanding the importance of art education, outlining best practices in teach art to children, and how to instill strong character in children. If this information is something you would be interested in please subscribe to the email list.
Lastly, this website is for you. If you ever have any comments, questions, or suggestions please don’t hesitate to email me. I would love to hear from you.
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