Encouraging kids to draw also encourages kindergarten readiness. Wee little ones start out with random squiggles and scribbles that develop later into recognizable shapes and objects. Some kids love to draw and their talent shows at the age of 3 or 4! For other children (and many adults) drawing can be a struggle. Drawing has lots of different kinds of learning.
Pictures and drawing are another form of communication, just like words and speaking. Children are interpreting and representing their view of the world. They are learning how to use tools such as crayons, pencils, paints, either real ones or in the case of this picture, digital ones. As kids explore making images, they are also developing and practicing small muscle coordination. Drawing requires both thinking and attentional skills.
Making pictures is a step before writing and helps reinforce the connection between meaning and print. In addition, making pictures on paper is good practice for making pictures in the mind or what is called visualizing. Even though drawing is very much a visual activity, there is still lots of language as children talk about their pictures, practice the vocabulary for colors and engage others in conversation.
These are only some of the early developmental and readiness for kindergarten learnings. This wonderful picture of spring also shows the care and pride that went into creating it. Does it make you smile, too?
