Teaching your child to draw: where to start?
I have already written about early introduction to the fine arts, but the topic is so large and controversial that I will return to the question: at what age should we start teaching children to draw? In general, it’s worth saying that many parents don’t even realize that teaching any type of fine art or handicraft is mandatory. The children themselves will not figure out how to draw or cut or sculpt correctly, so that they can depict their plans.
You often hear from mothers: oh, my son can’t draw at all, he’s just like me. But, as practice shows, everyone can be taught to depict objects on paper. Children with insufficient development show wonderful results and talents. And healthy children can even master the intricacies of using a pencil and brush.
There are effective trainings even for adults, step-by-step lessons, master classes. If there was a desire... Another thing is that kindergarten teachers are not able to make an artist out of every child. We give basic skills to children, but parents must specifically develop their talents. Needless to say, long before kindergarten a child can master the basic wisdom of fine arts.
So, as soon as your baby begins to sit well, freely, firmly, you can offer to draw. The first step is up to you: if you are ready for paint stains on all surfaces, including the artist himself, use finger paints. Big Whatman paper to help you! Your task is to show your child what can be done with paint. Give one color first and show how you can draw a line on the paper with your finger. Look at the baby’s mood - at the first sign of loss of interest, switch your attention to something else. At this stage, it is important to arouse interest in drawing.
If you're not up for the extra work of scrubbing everyone and everything off the paint, work with a pencil or wax crayon. Start your fun lesson games right at the feeding table. Show your child how to hold a “tool” of work, how to draw a line correctly, etc.
As for the number of classes, do not overdo it, 1-2 times a week is enough.
The child has grown up - it’s time to complicate the drawing technique
Above, I talked about children from 8 months to 1.5 years, who are just beginning to learn the secrets of fine art. Ideally, they can already hold a pencil and brush correctly and know what to do with these objects. Children of this age can draw a line and distinguish several colors.
We've been here for 2-3 years now. It is necessary to complicate the tasks: in order to positively motivate the child to draw, I advise you to actively use nursery rhymes, poems, and fairy tales on various topics. Inspire children, create a good mood so that they have an irresistible desire to convey their impressions through drawing.
Pictures in sets on topics: house, animals, people will be very useful to you. We told a poem, showed an illustration, then we drew together. Invite your child to continue your drawing to begin with. So you wanted to portray Pinocchio, for example. You start with the head, the torso, the baby finishes drawing the nose, arms and legs.
It is important to talk to children, comment on your actions, thereby developing the speech and vocabulary of the little artist. As you already understood from my previous articles, everything that you and we do with children is aimed at their comprehensive development.
Drawing is also communication between the participants in the process. By not just putting a pencil in your child’s hand, you are developing the child. You need to actively participate in learning, come up with new techniques, motivate children, feel the lack of interest and be able to maintain persistent interest. Change materials - paint not only with gouache, but also with toothpaste, in general in different ways and techniques.
I described in detail non-traditional and traditional methods in articles under the “Drawing” section. With skillful organization of home activities, you can literally make your child fall in love with fine art for life. As a result, you will grow a non-standard personality, capable of creative solutions and creation.
What to draw with children? Here, just winter, is a fertile topic. We make fingerprints with white paint - that's snow for you. They crawled on the paper - and the snowman melted... The main thing is the desire of the parents to give the child everything necessary for the comprehensive development as a spiritual person.
