How to Encourage Drawing in Young Children
No. I wouldn’t send your three year old to an art class to learn how to draw.
(Note: There are other reasons you might choose to take your young child to an art class, and I will get to those in a minute.)
I also have a longer answer which addresses the four issues I see in this question:
- whether to teach drawing skills to a 3 year old
- whether to take your 3 year old to an art class
- lack of drawing skills and possibly creative confidence for the parent
- worry about transferring that lack of drawing skill (possibly confidence) to the child
Drawing Skills & Creative Confidence In Young Children
There is a lot that goes into drawing ability. Self-confidence is one of them.
Believing that you can draw, as well as enjoying the act of drawing, are as important – no, MORE important – than technical drawing skills.
I really believe that.
My first and most important suggestion is to help your daughter hold on to her self-confidence. In art specifically, but also in herself in general, and her enjoyment of art.
How? Here are some ideas:
4 Key Things to Know About Kids Drawing
#1. Don’t ever denigrate yourself or your own drawing abilities
Show her that you have confidence in yourself and are at peace with your abilities (fake it ‘til you make it, baby).
If you sit down and draw beside her (and I think you should at least once in a while!), don’t say, “I can’t draw.”
If you don’t feel like you can draw a realistic elephant, that’s okay! Realism is overrated! Or, if you don’t think so, pretend you do for a little while.
Draw a completely abstract elephant in bright colors. Or just draw abstract, period. Doodle squares, circles, spirals, hash marks, letters, and whatever else you think of across the page.
Enjoy the process. Keep your pen moving. Perhaps try for a design or a mandala.
But don’t utter the words, “I can’t draw” in front of your child. Children learn by example.
#2. Be conscious of how you talk to your child about the art she makes
Don’t just say, “that’s pretty.” Talk about the marks she is making on the page or the colors she is using: “Wow! You really worked hard on that!”
My default is to ask children to tell me about their artwork.
If your child is a young three, she might not be assigning meaning to her art yet (or then again, she might). As she nears four, she will likely become more elaborate with the stories that go with her art.
#3. Make art fun and exploratory
Keep your child’s art activities as process-oriented as possible at this age.
Try not to expect particular outcomes, but rather, encourage her to explore the following:
- art materials (paints, crayons, shaving cream, etc)
- ideas (big/small, themes from her life, similar and contrasting colors)
- techniques (watercolor resist, splatter painting, shaving cream marbling)
Introduce new materials and techniques, but also stand back and let her explore art on her own, in her own way.
Try giving her freedom to explore during projects that you set up for her. And also try to have some art materials accessible to use any time she likes. This could be an art caddy with markers, crayons, scissors and tape near the kitchen table. It could also be her own dedicated art space with a table or easel and a wider range of kids’ art supplies.
#4. Keep art activities developmentally and age appropriate
I don’t think that teaching a child “how to draw” is appropriate at age three.
Instead, you can guide her through the occasional observational drawing exercise and preferably in a way that encourages observing as much as drawing. Or try this still life drawing exercise with fruit from your kitchen. The most important thing at this age is to encourage open-ended exploration of art materials, self-confidence, and enjoyment in art and learning.
Let her go through the normal developmental stages in drawing and art at her own pace.
When she’s older, if she expresses an interest in drawing things a certain way or learning drawing techniques, you can consider a drawing class, a book for you (Drawing with Children), or a book for her. But I wouldn’t do that now.
More Kids Drawing Recommendations
By the way, along with keeping art process-oriented and age-appropriate, I would suggest that you avoid coloring books and tracing/coloring-in activities as much as possible.
Their emphasis on adult-drawn images and coloring inside the lines is not helpful to a young child’s burgeoning creativity.
You don’t have to be militant about it (we’ve used them from time to time when Maia received them as gifts, but I don’t buy them myself), but don’t make coloring books a regular part of your life. I’ve written more about coloring books (and received some strongly-worded comments for it!) if you’re interested.
Reasons To Try Other Art Classes
What about art lessons and art classes for young children?
I said that I don’t think you should send your 3 year old to an art class to learn “how to draw.” However, an art class for young children may be a good idea for other reasons.
- It might provide you with ideas and instructions for more art activities to do with your daughter at home.
- It might expose your child to more materials and activities than she has at home.
- You and your child might enjoy the social aspect of the art class.
- The art class might provide messy art experiences that you might not feel comfortable providing at home.
If you want to try an art class with your young child, I would suggest one that is focused on age-appropriate, process-oriented art. See Julie Liddle’s Art in Hand program for an example of an ideal art program for toddlers and preschoolers.
Reasons To Try Art Classes For Adults
Would you like to improve your own drawing skills?
If you’d like to learn how to draw better or more confidently, consider taking that drawing class yourself (well, one for adults anyway). There are classes oriented towards all levels of drawing ability.
Finally, I have heard good things about the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. There are some pretty dramatic examples of before and after drawings done by adults who went through the exercises in the book or took the class.
To recap, my suggestion for kids drawing is: focus on process-oriented art, build self-confidence, keep art fun, and don’t ever say, “I can’t draw.” If you choose an art class for your child, do it for the right reasons. And make sure the class is appropriate for her age and developmental stage.
Dena – Does this answer your question? Does it bring up any others for you?
Everyone else – What do you think? Do you agree with my advice or would you suggest something else for Dena (or someone else in her situation)? What do you think about teaching a 3 year old drawing skills?
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