Finger drawing! Coloring book! Sketchbooks and art kits! Oh, and creative fun for your budding artists. It may be hard to say right now, but your child or preschooler is busy honing the skills they need to create masterpieces in the future. Skeptical? Think of it this way: even Frida Kahlo started scribbling with crayons in her hand! Here, you can expect what your creative little one brings and when.
Scribbling Stage
Between about 15 months and 2.5 years of age, your child’s fine motor skills (the ability to make small movements with the hands and wrists) really begin to develop as they begin to embrace doodling. To make it easier to grasp, hand out triangular crayons that are easy to grasp, stubby pencils, and washable markers.
But know that your child won’t be holding crayons like you do. Instead, they use a fist grip or a palm grip, that is, a fist grip with the child’s thumb wrapped around the top of the crayon. This is completely normal! Children will soon move on to more mature grips. As far as your child’s artwork is concerned, you may see a lot of lines, loops, and spirals. As your child approaches 2 years of age, shapes like T and V will also appear.
At this age, the sensory absorption of it all—the feeling of a fat crayon in the palm of your hand, the squeezing of finger paint, and the smell—is either what your child loves… Either disgusted. If you make your child feel overloaded at the art table, don’t force him. It’s just a matter of turning the art back in its place and gradually reintroducing creativity little by little. Another exciting development: by the time your child reaches their second birthday, they may begin to show a preference for right-handed or left-handed… But many children do not show this tendency for several years.
Repeat and Track Phases
Around the age of 3, your baby partner’s muscle control is on the rise for more precise finger and hand movements. This means that the standard fist or hand grip begins to shift to an adult-like grip, with the child’s thumb on one side of the crayon and fingers on the other. (This is called a tripod grip.) It’s still a bit clunky and awkward, but it gives your child’s little hands enough control to make a wide range of vertical and circular strokes. You will find many repetitive shapes and/or lines on the page, such as a large number of hollow circles; diagonal, curved, horizontal, and vertical lines; and points.
Your child’s attention span and desire to explore is rapidly developing, creating a new desire for drawing simple shapes, using (child-safe) scissors, clay play, and finger painting. However, there are no grand artistic projects happening yet. For example, your child may not be able to sit down and decide to draw a kitten. Instead, they look at their own collection of doodles and circles and proudly claim that they created a cat.
Picture Stage
Between the ages of 4 and 5, your child will start to really think about their creations before they even pick up a crayon. And because their grip control has improved a lot (and looks more like yours), you’ll also start to notice the difference your child makes. The coloring of lines may have become a trend now. Plus, more details and more colors will permeate your child’s creations.
Your child can now draw and draw more complex shapes and geometric patterns; They may be able to use the brush appropriately and cut and paste with relative ease. Circles are also popular now, just like combining shapes to make objects. (For example, triangles and circles make up a party hat.) And people!
Now, your child’s figure drawing will have eyes, nose, and mouth! Of course, the body may not be exactly there, and the legs may or may not protrude from the head… But they will be 100% representative of real people. There’s a good chance that your child’s family portrait will have a shining sun in the corner, and many sharp rays of light will sting the edges of the irregular circles. But in most cases, people and objects appear to float around the page.
The growth of art will certainly not stop! On the contrary, when your adorable baby grows into a school-age child, they will have their own unique style of drawing, and most of the work they create is completely recognizable. There are a few things you’ll encounter between now and 8 years old, including:
- Realistic and stereotypical colors (grass is green; The ocean is blue)
- Skylines and grass lines appear
- Depth drawing begins
- The body parts and clothes in the figure paintings are obvious
- Most objects are drawn with a straight line perspective
- The story is accompanied by pictures
From their early doodles to their superb self-portraits, show your kids that you appreciate their hard work and creativity! Comment more on their artistic process than on the final product. So don’t ask, “Is that a house?” I love it! Try:”Your photos are so interesting!” I love all the blues! Or,”Tell me your picture.” And display their artwork on the refrigerator, on the gallery wall for children, or in the art and photos on the wall of the living room. So that your child will be proud… And encourage them to keep creating!