“Look What I Drew!” Tips for Enhancing Your Child’s Art Experience

“Look what I drew!” our children often say with lots of pride (and rightfully so). Very often what looks like a castle, a firetruck, or another complex drawing to a child may simply and honestly look like scribbles to us. Scribbles have a lot more meaning than their appearance and are prerequisites to writing letters. The way children scribble in circle, lines, zig zags will eventually lead them to write letters.

Here are a few ideas on ways to enhance your child’s drawing experience:

Create a Space:

Designate a little corner with papers, envelopes and crayons that children can easy access without asking. Print and tape or have a visible strip with Alphabet letters. If possible, include various writing tools such has a ruler, markers, colored and different sizes of paper to enrich the writing experience.

Observe and Engage:

Instead of sharing a compliment such as “wow, this drawing is beautiful” or trying to guess what the drawing represents, focus on what you see: “I see a lot of blue in this corner, can you tell me about it? “I notice that you were pressing very hard on the top and this area has lots of circles”

Showing Appreciation:

Show your child that their drawing has value. Give them the time to speak about their work, offer to display and mail a few to friends and families (with their permission).

Encourage Emotional Expression:

When you are comforting your child, offer them to draw. It is a great way to self-regulate and channel their emotion in a way they can express themselves.

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