Activities to Help Develop Drawing Skills
Drawing skills is a very important pre-writing skill that allows children to communicate ideas and thoughts on paper, similar to using words. Drawing is also essential in teaching children how to control their pencil. If children are still having difficulty writing letters do not be too eager to teach letters straight away, spend fun time drawing together instead. If a child has not learnt all the pre-requisite skills to form letters then you will only be helping to develop splinter skills for handwriting.
To read my other blog post about Development of Drawing Skills Click Here.
ACTIVITIES TO HELP DEVELOP DRAWING SKILLS:
- Encourage free drawing as often as possible. Easels and blackboards are great.
- Ask your child to tell you about what they have drawn rather then putting your own interpretations on it.
- Talk your child through adding features - eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs, hair. Ask them what is missing from their picture; take turns - you add one eye, have your child add the other.
- Draw your own person and ask your child to copy you.
- Give your child pictures that a missing features - missing an eye or an arm or both legs. Ask them what is missing and have them draw it on.
- Thick and short crayons or felts are good, particularly in the initial stages as they require very little pressure to mark the page and are easy to hold.
- Scribbling is important - it is the first stage int he basis of learning to write. It also gives practice in controlling hand muscles and eye hand coordination.
- Use large pieces of paper and blackboards to begin with as children don't always for the control to be confined.
- Colour in large simple shapes first and then move onto more defined pictures. Draw around the child's body on a large piece of paper and then colour in the clothing areas.
- Practice copying activities. Show how to draw simple lines and shapes and then get them to do it.