How to get DS to draw more

[niccig]

DS is in a developmental play based k class, and he does not like to write or draw. I know next year in 1, he will need to write more, and I thought a first step in improving fine motor would be for him to draw more. His teachers suggested this as well. So how can I encourage him to draw pictures - he prefers to build with Lego and blocks. We do not do worksheets, but I do have mazes and tracing books. I'm looking for ideas for free drawing, and not coloring books. My sister is an art educator at university and is very opposed to coloring books and coloring within the lines for stifling creativity.

Thanks.

[Pennylane]

We love these at our house :

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297885177&sr=8-1


I don't agree with your sister at all about coloring books. Both my dd's love to color in color books, but they also love to draw pictures on plain paper and are very artistic!

Ann

[kristac]

Love love love Ed Emberly
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_25?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ed+emberley+drawing+books&sprefix=ed+emberley+drawing+books

DS got into these around 4.5/ 5 and his artistic confidence really took off. Before these he didn't really like to draw because he thought he didn't know how.

Also really happy with Usborne Doodle Cards
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Doodles-Doodle-Cards-Fiona/dp/0794525504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297885358&sr=8-1
So much fun and they can be erased and reused.
Going to get some dry erase crayons to go with this as well.

He likes this book as well but it is a bit above him (reading level and concepts sometimes)
http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297885463&sr=1-1

[niccig]

We love these at our house :

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297885177&sr=8-1


I don't agree with your sister at all about coloring books. Both my dd's love to color in color books, but they also love to draw pictures on plain paper and are very artistic!

Ann

Thanks I will look at those, I think DS would like this, as it give him suggestion for what to draw himself

Her argument against colouring books is that it shapes what kids will draw, and they compare what they can do to the colouring page. She is all about free drawing and you can make the sun any color or shape that you want to, no one is to say what it should be, you are the artist. She was a school art teacher, and now teaches in education department at university, and does complain that many of her student teachers are technically good at art, but struggle with creativity and being original. eg. they'll do up a lesson plan and end result is that everyone's art work will be the same rather than giving supplies, skills, direction and then letting them create.

I can see her point, as I am all about something looking the way it is "supposed to be", but who says it has to be that way? And I can not make my picture look the same, so I get frustrated.

DS doesn't like to colouring books anyways, he prefers to draw his own picture, but prefes building over drawing, so we do not draw much. I need topics for him to draw...I can't just say "draw me a picture"..but something that helps give him ideas I suppose. Actually, I'll email my sister and get a list from her as well.

[crl]

I don't have any great ideas. I will share though that ds had fine motor delays and hated drawing and writing. One day he started writing lists of classmates names. He did this spontaneously. Now he voluntarily writes all the time, often still lists of names. He also spontaneously started drawing. He seldom draws "typical" pictures. Instead he draws layouts, like maps or blueprints almost, of places we have been or of his classroom so he can show me where everyone sits. He goes through reams of paper now.

Honestly, it was nothing I did. He just found somethings he was interested in expressing on paper and suddenly it all took off.

His fine motor skills still are not great, but his handwriting is now fairly typical for the boys in his class and his pictures are unusual but have as much detail as others in his class.

Catherine

[kristac]

Maybe you could incorperate drawing/ writing into his love of building? He could draw streets for his lego cars or scenary for houses/ bulidings... Signs, people, trees, etc.

Also maybe some new fresh supplies would bring inspiration. Window markers, oil pastels, slick sticks, sidewalk chalk...

[niccig]

He seldom draws "typical" pictures. Instead he draws layouts, like maps or blueprints almost, of places we have been or of his classroom so he can show me where everyone sits. He goes through reams of paper now.



Now this DS would love to do.

[niccig]

Maybe you could incorperate drawing/ writing into his love of building? He could draw streets for his lego cars or scenary for houses/ bulidings... Signs, people, trees, etc.

Also maybe some new fresh supplies would bring inspiration. Window markers, oil pastels, slick sticks, sidewalk chalk...

These are great ideas. Where I struggle is that I do not draw or do art. I'm math, science oriented and want things to be perfect reproductions. So, I don't know how to give DS some direction.

[hillview]

We like the kumon books -- DS1 doesn't like any writing / coloring at all
/hillary

[hillview]

I don't have any great ideas. I will share though that ds had fine motor delays and hated drawing and writing. One day he started writing lists of classmates names. He did this spontaneously. Now he voluntarily writes all the time, often still lists of names. He also spontaneously started drawing. He seldom draws "typical" pictures. Instead he draws layouts, like maps or blueprints almost, of places we have been or of his classroom so he can show me where everyone sits. He goes through reams of paper now.

Honestly, it was nothing I did. He just found somethings he was interested in expressing on paper and suddenly it all took off.

His fine motor skills still are not great, but his handwriting is now fairly typical for the boys in his class and his pictures are unusual but have as much detail as others in his class.

Catherine

Catherine
What age was this? The suddenly interested in doing it?
Thanks!
/hillary

[crl]

Now this DS would love to do.

You know, ds does a ton of building with blocks too. And builds much like he draws. Maybe you could introduce the idea of sketching something before he builds it? And since it is "just a sketch" no need for perfection? Or sit down and draw some maps together? DS loves it when I draw with him. My art is lousy, he just likes the company.

Catherine

[KrisM]

DS struggled with coloring and drawing in kindy last year. This year has been better. He's decent with writing abilities, if he takes his time. He doesn't have to draw as much and the coloring is way down, too. I tried to encourage the drawing and coloring and it's just not something he likes to do. We did other fine motor things, like cutting on lines, making origami, and Legos.

[zoestargrove]

Building on the drawing blue prints, roadways idea - I think a roll of paper like brown craft paper or the kind they sell for art tables would be great for this.)

My boys enjoyed making and drawing maps. We'd use the inside of a brown paper bag, rip around the edges and crumple it up, then flatten it out to make it look worn like a pirate treasure map.

sidewalk chalk was a miracle product for getting them to enjoy writing and drawing. We'd play games in the driveway.

Chalkboards or white boards also. We set one up when they are playing store, restaurant or weatherman so they can write out a pricelist, menu or weather map.

One of our all time favorite games we play -usually when waiting at dr. office, at restaurant or traveling is called The Shape Game. You just need a pad of paper and pencil to play.

One person draws a shape and hands the pad to the other person. The second person looks at the shape and tries to draw something from that shape -it can be simple or elaborate.

Pictionary or a homemade version is another fun game to encourage drawing.

I love art supplies so I think its fun to change up the writing instruments. Smencils, gelly pens (especially on black paper) and colored pencils that turn into watercolors are a few of the novel supplies I've bought in the past.

[sste]

I agree with using something he has a strong interest in (spiderman, construction/building) and making the drawing about that.

I recently had a preschool meeting (at 3 y/o sheesh!) where the teacher said DS was not showing her he could draw a circle or make lines. I told her just to ask him to draw a vehicular rotary, railroad tracks, or a traffic intersection and she would be all set. :)

[BeachBum]

We love these at our house :

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297885177&sr=8-1

...

Ann

That is adorable! I just bought a similar one at Costco, but yours is cuter :)

[Seitvonzu]

for "suggestions of what to draw" i immediately thought of the anti-coloring books... i picked one up before i even had a kid at an airport borders because i thought it was so cool. it basically gives just what you said-- ideas of what to draw!

not sure if they are available at amazon... but i'm pretty sure there was a stand alone website for them. they are on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=anti-coloring+book&sprefix=anti-coloring+book

[Seitvonzu]

not to hijack, but gosh...when should you start being concerned about this stuff? my 3 year, 2 month old has exposure to all sorts of medium (we have chalk board(wall and easel), dry erase, paint,markers(think and thin),crayons (all sorts from fat to rock to shape to regular , tons and tons), colored pencils (thick and thin),sidewalk chalk, etc.--but she just doesn't stay interested either....she'll do it when cajoled, and sometimes if i sit with her, but sometimes she'll just want me to do it for her or just stops (we think some of this is perfectionism...the coloring she does do, for example, is very exacting). when do you push it?

today she did say she was writing a book and made squiggles on about a dozen pages before she got bored--the squiggles went from elaborate at first (it says once upon a time there was a dinosaur, mommy!) to very faint and very small....worry?

[Corie]

for "suggestions of what to draw" i immediately thought of the anti-coloring books... i picked one up before i even had a kid at an airport borders because i thought it was so cool. it basically gives just what you said-- ideas of what to draw!

not sure if they are available at amazon... but i'm pretty sure there was a stand alone website for them. they are on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=anti-coloring+book&sprefix=anti-coloring+book


The anti-coloring books have been around for years!! I had the first
one when I was young. :) I even have pictures of me coloring in it.

I bought some for my kids. My daughter, the artist, likes them okay.
My son, the anti-artist, never uses them.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It honestly just clicked with ds1 one day and he was an art producing fiend...be careful what you wish for. :) It started in the first 1/3-1/2 of his k year.

Beth

[WatchingThemGrow]

Our kitchen table (we don't usually eat there) has a drawing station set up because DD can't stop drawing/writing right now.

I had one of these (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=usborne+drawing&x=0&y=0) (the people book) from my classroom, and found the animal one at a consignment sale. They are much simpler and clearer than the boys' doodle book, but the same idea. The books are always open and displayed in a cookbook holder (http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Acrylic-Plastic-Cookbook-Holders/dp/B0000ZL2B6) on the table. There is a telescoping crayon tower there now, and sometimes there are 2-24 packs of colored pencils in a box there also. I get a very thick spiral sketchbook from Target and let that be the one place she draws, so there is not a mess of papers everywhere. There are 2 stokke chairs, plus an adult chair there so that one of us can sit down with them to draw, talk about it or whatever. Really, really loving this set up right now...

[hellokitty]

I don't feel like this is something that you can force onto a kid. You can do some things like sign him up for art classes, sometimes getting them a video game (leapster has a good one, Mr. Pencil Learn to Write and Draw) to kick start things. DS1 and DS2 were both very reluctant when it came to writing or drawing. And then on their own, around 5 yrs old, they both kind of took off on their own. I had tried to encourage them before, but they just weren't all that interested in it. As for coloring, it seems like a lot of boys hate coloring, my boys don't like it, they prefer to draw or build too. So, I guess what I am saying is not to feel like something is wrong if he really isn't into it. One thing that helped is craft books. I have many Usborne craft books, and I would just let my kids flip through them and pick out something they wanted to do. Many of them included drawing as part of the craft and it was a way to encourage them to participate in drawing, w/o pushing, kwim?

[ahisma]

We're in a similar situation. DS 4.5 is fine motor delayed and has ZERO interest.

I've focused on finding options that appeal to him. I don't push anything and let him take the lead. Here's some things that we've had success with - some are drawing specific, some aren't. I've found that he's more keen on options that don't involve paper / pen.

- Keep markers / paper on the table
- Aquadoodle board and mat
- Magnadoodle board
- Wikki Stix
- stringing (small) beads in patterns (he loves the patterns)
- cutting straws (strengthens the muscles, you can string rainbow straws)
- lacing cards
- dot to dot books

[HIU8]

Niccig,

My son also hated to draw and write. He has fine motor issues. Honestly, it took 18 months of OT to help him build up his hand strength and now he draws and writes non-stop (he is our resident artist). One thing the OT told us to do is to have DS write/draw on a chalk/dry erase board while standing. Something about having to hold the arm and hand more upright helps strengthen the muscles. We also do a lot of scissor work and bubble popping (popping bubbles with one of those clamp toys).

[jgenie]

not to hijack, but gosh...when should you start being concerned about this stuff? my 3 year, 2 month old has exposure to all sorts of medium (we have chalk board(wall and easel), dry erase, paint,markers(think and thin),crayons (all sorts from fat to rock to shape to regular , tons and tons), colored pencils (thick and thin),sidewalk chalk, etc.--but she just doesn't stay interested either....she'll do it when cajoled, and sometimes if i sit with her, but sometimes she'll just want me to do it for her or just stops (we think some of this is perfectionism...the coloring she does do, for example, is very exacting). when do you push it?

today she did say she was writing a book and made squiggles on about a dozen pages before she got bored--the squiggles went from elaborate at first (it says once upon a time there was a dinosaur, mommy!) to very faint and very small....worry?

:BUMP: :BUMP: :BUMP: I'm wondering the same thing about my 3 year old. We spend more time playing with trains and almost no time writing or coloring. Just before his speech services ended his ST mentioned that he had a hard time holding a pen when she gave it to him. Thoughts??? TIA

[niccig]

:BUMP: :BUMP: :BUMP: I'm wondering the same thing about my 3 year old. We spend more time playing with trains and almost no time writing or coloring. Just before his speech services ended his ST mentioned that he had a hard time holding a pen when she gave it to him. Thoughts??? TIA

Well, DS is 6, so I think it's more of an issue. He did write his name on all his valentine without trouble. I do think if he had a pencil/crayon in his hand more, it would help with his writing. DS seems about the same as many of the other boys. I am not overly worried right now, but I did hear from another mother with a boy in grade 1 that they are writing more and she noticed that her DS's writing was one of the poorest and he doesn't like to write - I think this will be DS as well as we don't draw/write much he doesn't practice. I thought DS would be more willing to draw rather than write.

I'm going to be better about having more materials around and I've ordered some of the books and will use the ideas of drawing maps, blueprints etc. I mentioned today that during free play at school, he could draw a plan of what he's about to build with the blocks, and he really liked that idea. He loves cars and trucks, so I also suggested drawing a picture of a car stunt like they do on Top Gear as you have to plan it out before you go build the ramp for the matchbox cars.

I think I need to incorporate more paper/pencil into our play rather than, OK it's drawing time.

[KrisM]

Nicci, I thought of something that DS1 did like to write a lot. He has a good friend that goes to another elementary, so they don't see each other often. They sent postcards to each other. Not long, but it was interesting for him to write them.

[wimama]

My DS was lagging behind in fine motor and he had little interest in art projects and drawing. We used to joke around that he was in his minimalist period. All his friend’s art in preschool was much more detailed with more paint or more drawing on it. It was pretty obvious he was lagging behind. He was just interested in other activities. Then something clicked and he became interested in art and coloring. Since the beginning of the school year he has made a giant leap forward in his interest level and manual dexterity. He all of the sudden could color in the lines.

The only thing I did to encourage him was buy him these two types of crayons in an effort to try and help him develop a good tripod grip.

http://www.amazon.com/Crayon-Rocks-Sixteen-Colors-Velvet/dp/B002EODQBA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297951106&sr=8-1

(http://www.amazon.com/Crayon-Rocks-Sixteen-Colors-Velvet/dp/B002EODQBA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297951106&sr=8-1)http://www.amazon.com/Triangular-Crayons-Extra-Jumbo-colors/dp/B003153SCI/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1297959662&sr=1-8

I thought it was a sneaky way for me to encourage a better pencil grip without forcing him to work on it or constantly correcting his grip. His grip is improving and his dexterity is as well. Not sure if these crayons helped or just the increase in his interest level helped.

[infocrazy]

I'll be watching this thread. DS1 hates writing words and for a looooooong time he did not like drawing, but I think he is getting more confident about drawing so is doing it more. I do have pencil grips on his pencils. Without them, he wraps his thumb over his index finger.

Lately though, he has been creating "books" out of scrap paper. He is loving it! I am just going with it, but I hope to have him start writing at least a one word description of his pictures...that isn't getting much love though. :)