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Posts Tagged ‘drawing’

Culture plays a large role in  many things – from what we eat to how we dress – and it even has an effect on the minutae of life – like whether or not drawing will enter into a child’s repertoire of behavior.

For instance, studies have shown that Taiwanese-American & Chinese-American parents tend to plan more drawing time for their children than they European-American counterpart parents do. As a result of more time spent drawing, Taiwanese-American and Chinese-American children’s drawings have been deemed more advanced than those of their counterparts.

According to  studies carried out in 1983, when children are provided with drawing materials and encouragement they tend to create works that reflect their particular culture – and each culture has its own ’style’. For example, French children tend to spend a good deal of time on drawing, filling the entire page with large, colorful designs,  drawings by Japanese children  meanwhile tend to be more complex, harmonious and complete than drawings by North-American children. Children from the island of Bali on the other hand, use many small and intricate marks to draw complex, colorful designs which fill the page.

While many cultures use and value drawing as art, there are a few cultures that show no evidence of drawing at all.

The children from the island of Ponape usually have no prior drawing experience. Yet when  a recent study was carried out, those Ponape children that were given drawing materials  tended to draw  by starting in the center of the page making shapes that connected outward like  groups of linked bubbles – they also tended not to fill the page and used only one color per drawing.

When children from cultures that do not include drawing are first introduced to the tools, they tend to experiment, scribble, or attempt realistic drawings right from the start. There appears to be great variation in first attempts. However, in general, it has been found that children usually draw from a cultural perspective – imitating the designs reflected in fabrics, architecture or other aspects of the adult culture including symbol systems such as written letters or characters and numerals.

Culture therefore confines and defines  the art of children.

Children from ‘First World’ countries like the USA have many opportunities to draw and color and are encouraged to do so by their parents, teachers and other caregivers. Material is plentiful too with crayons, paper,  coloring books and even online resources in plentiful supply. Little boys tend to enjoy coloring pictures that represent what they sees every day such as cars, trucks and machinery while little girls enjoy coloring images of fairytale scenes – however you can seldome go wrong with Disney characters as most children have a favourite and at sites like Disney Coloring Pages you’ll find many free Disney colouring

With both encouragement and resources a-plenty, our children are very lucky to have both the means as well as the support to express themselves creatively through drawing and colouring.

To the casual observer, a child who is drawing or coloring in, is merely scribbling. The marks seem to be haphazard, almost meaningless. But there is much more happening in your young child’s mind while s/he engages in the physical act of drawing and coloring.

In fact, examining children’s drawing may give us important insights into how drawing fits into the overall physical, emotional and cognitive development of the young child. From toddlerhood through primary school, children choose to draw and color, but the process starts much earlier – during toddlerhood.

At around the age of one and a half, toddlers become interested in scribbling. It seems to provide sensory enjoyment, but research has shown that the child is also interested in the marks that are made. The act of scribbling can serve several useful purposes for the young child. Small muscle coordination and control improve eventually with practice. Cognitive abilities are exercised, opportunities for social interaction arise and importantly, the physical movements provide emotional release.

Because a toddler’s small muscle control is not fully developed, he or she may approach the coloring sheet by grasping the marker with his or her fist and may have difficulty placing the marks exactly where he or she wants them. Movements are typically large, involving the entire arm with very little finger or wrist control. This is because the pattern of physical development proceeds from the center of the trunk outward.

With practice, the toddler will naturally improve his or her control, full control, however, will not be achieved until much later. A few toddlers rest the forearm on the drawing surface to give them additional control. A rhythmic, repetitive, scrubbing motion is common among two-year-olds, providing sensory enjoyment and making drawing a very physical act.

By providing children with the materials and opportunities to scribble we can promote physical skills. Just as babbling is a natural way to gain language, scribbling is a natural gateway to muscle control and coordination.

Intellectually toddlers are concerned with both the process and results of their art. They do not intend to represent objects at first. Instead, they are concerned with color and line. However, they may look at their scribbles and, in surprise, recognize a shape and name it. While they may not have intended to draw a dog or tree, the scribbles suggest the shapes. Children interpret, rather than intend. This is referred to as ‘fortuitous realism’ and becomes common as a child approaches three years of age.

As a parent you can encourage your child to draw and color by offering him or her opportunities to do so.  Let them loose on blank sheets of paper or provide them with a coloring book or coloring sheets, many of which  are available online. For example, many little girls love Hello Kitty and at sites like Hello Kitty Coloring Pages you’ll find the best coloring pages.

Remember that toddlers need constant supervision while coloring due to the choking hazard that crayons pose.

Encourage creativity in your children by providing them with the time, resources, encouragement and the space for making art. Try to set aside interruption-free time for drawing, in a mess-proof zone – so that their creativity can run wild. Make sure you cover all surfaces so that any splashes of paint or scribbles of crayon are ‘caught’ – because  nothing squishes creativity more so than a parent saying “Don’t make a mess” every 2 minutes.

Choose the right drawing materials too as this is very  important. Many craft materials can be improvised (think of kitchen roll tubes, yogurt pots etc) but when drawing tools and paper are required, opt for a small selection of good quality age-appropriate products, rather than loads of inferior products. Be sure to check safety information and follow instructions. Young children should always be surpervised during arts and crafts activities because many necessary materials – such as crayons – pose a choking hazard.

Surroundings:As with writing or working at a computer, good posture and a comfortable position are important for drawing. A child sized table and chair is actually preferable to an easel. If the chair is a little high, provide a phone book for a footrest. An inexpensive plastic chair  set in front of a coffee table works well. A small kitchen storage trolley is perfect for containing supplies, or if space does not allow, a portable fishing tackle box is a great option too. Messy toddlers may need a drop-cloth and supervision to avoid ink-stained walls, as even ‘washable’ pens often don’t deliver on that promise!

Art Materials:Avoid cheap markers, too-hard pencils and thin paints – these types of materials are discouraging to the child and therefore  a waste of money. Provide many sheets of blank paper to inspire their creativity and occasionally invest in a canvas so that your child can paint something and chances are you’ll want to hang it on your wall!Provide coloring books as well or coloring pages which are bountiful online. True – coloring pages are not so great for creativity, however they do provide children with the chance to practice their fine motor skills – plus sometimes it’s very relaxing and just what they need. They can simply color in without feeling the ‘pressure’ about WHAT to draw.  Little boys typically enjoy coloring pictures of cars and trucks while little girls usually enjoy colouring images of princesses and fairies - however you can’t go wrong with Disney characters and at sites like Disney Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Mickey Mouse coloring.

When it comes to drawing and coloring, at each age/stage of your child’s life provide….

Toddlers:

• Child-safe markers and wipe-off boards
• Chalk boards and safe chalk
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Juniors:

• Sketchbook
• Student colored pencils
• Washable Markers
• Oil pastels
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Middle School:

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Graphite Pencils
• Watercolor sketch paper
• Watercolor pencils
• Marker pens, marker paper
• Plain paper and coloring pages

High School

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Quality drawing papers and boards
• Graphite Pencils
• Artists’ quality colored pencils
• Illustration markers, marker paper
• Pastel paper and hard pastels if liked
• Plain paper and canvases to work on

All ages:

• Safe sharpeners, erasers, dusters, stencils and rulers
• A  folder for storing large pieces
• Storage boxes for smaller pieces
• Consider photographing or scanning pieces for a permanent record.

Culture plays a large role in  many things – from what we eat to how we dress – and it even has an effect on the minutae of life – like whether or not drawing will enter into a child’s repertoire of behavior.

For example, studies have shown that  Taiwanese-American and Chinese-American parents tend to plan more drawing time for their children than their  European-American  counterpart parents do. As a result of more time spent drawing, Taiwanese-American and Chinese-American children’s drawings have been deemed more advanced than those of their counterparts.

According to research carried out in 1983, when children are provided with drawing and coloring materials and encouragement they tend to create works that reflect their particular culture – and each culture has its own ’style’. For example, French children tend to spend a good deal of time on drawing, filling the entire page with large, colorful designs,  drawings by Japanese children  meanwhile tend to be more complex, harmonious and complete than drawings by North-American children. Children from the island of Bali meanwhile, typically use many small marks to draw complex, colorful designs which fill the page.

While many cultures use and value drawing as art, there are a few cultures that show no evidence of drawing at all.

The children from the island of Ponape (in Micronesia) usually have no prior drawing experience. Yet when researchers carried out a recent study, those Ponape children that were given drawing materials tended to draw by starting in the center of the page making shapes that connected outward like groups of linked bubbles – they also tended not.

Interestingly, when children from cultures that do not include drawing are first introduced to the tools, they tend to experiment, scribble, or attempt realistic drawings right from the start. There seems to be great variation in first attempts. However, in general, it has been found that children tend to draw from a cultural perspective, imitating the designs reflected in fabrics, architecture or other aspects of the adult culture including symbol systems such as written letters or characters and numerals.

Culture therefore confines and defines  the art of children.

Children from ‘First World’ countries like Europe and the USA are given opportunities to draw and color and are encouraged to do so by their parents, teachers and other caregivers. Material is plentiful too with crayons, paper,  coloring books and even online resources in plentiful supply. Little boys tend to enjoy coloring pictures that represent what he sees every day such as cars, trucks and machinery while little girls enjoy coloring images from fairy tales and   princesses and at sites like Princess Coloring Pages you’ll find the best princess colouring

With both encouragement and resources a-plenty, children of ‘First World’ countries are very lucky to have both the means and the support to express themselves creatively through drawing and colouring.

The simple acts of drawing and coloring are  literally childs’ play, however, they both play an important role in a child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development. Like no other activity, drawing and coloring allows young children to express themselves and their emotions, experience autonomy and build their confidence. Drawing and coloring are also excellent pre-cursors to developing writing skills because the toddler is honing his or her fine motor skills which are essential when learning to write.

Parents and caregivers can promote drawing and coloring  as a way to improve physical, social, emotional and cognitive development – and to have a lot of fun along the way too. Here are some ideas you can try:

1.Provide kids with nontoxic materials, blank sheets of white paper and coloring pages.

2. Model drawing. Show children that you like to draw and color too -  make designs but do not show your children what they  should draw.

3.Encourage all drawing and coloring activity and efforts by talking about the beautiful colors, the lines and shapes the child has made.

4.Rather than ask, “What have you drawn?,”  say “Tell me about your drawing”.Asking “What is that?” suggests to the child that s/he has failed to depict what they intended.

5. Talk about concepts like  thin, thick, wide, narrow, dark, light, edge, shape, contour, etc.

6. Display their art on the kitchen fridge, in their room and in places where visitors to your home will see them. Point them out to visitors – the praise for the work will boost a child’s self esteeem and confidence.

7. Give children the freedom to choose the subjects of their drawings and of their coloring sheets. For example little boys  may enjoy coloring images of  cars, trucks or a favourite character such as Pokemon -  and at sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find Pikachu coloring pictures. Little girls on the other hand prefer images from fairy tales such as Princess pictures - choose whatever pleases your child to encourage their enthusiasm for the activity and their interest in it. 

8. Always supervise younger children while they draw and color – crayons pose a choking hazard.