Week 6: Learning Through Drawing

This is something I may need more than my kids. Whenever we sit down together to draw, I get immediate drawer’s block. That’s a thing. Really.

Seriously, though, there’s something about staring at that blank page that just makes me freeze.

paper

Sometimes, a little inspiration is just the thing that’s needed. These drawing clips can also help your child branch out and draw things they probably wouldn’t think of drawing on their own. If you have a kid who draws the same thing every time they sit down, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Why Kids Should Draw

Not everyone thinks of art and drawing as a critical part of education. In fact, at my kids’ school the art program was cut, and the only art education they receive is what is offered by volunteers from the PTA.

Art, however, truly is a critical part of a child’s education. Here are my top 4 reasons why:

First, for younger kids, the simple act of holding and drawing with a crayon, pencil, marker, pen, or paintbrush is critical to the fine motor skill and hand-eye coordination needed for writing.
Second, art allows a child to express themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words – especially to a child who doesn’t have the same mastery of language that adults do. Try watching them create, without commenting, and then talk to them afterwards about what they drew, and why. Talking to your kids about their drawings can be an incredible way to get them to open up to you, and you can learn more about how they think and what they care about.
This may seem obvious, but art encourages creativity. What may not be obvious is how important creativity is in ANY future job your child may have. Think about a work project you did with other people, and about how much you valued the super creative person in the group who could truly brainstorm new ideas, and think outside the box. Drawing is a great way to practice that skill. For a little more fun with this activity, and to really encourage creativity, have them pick one prompt, and then challenge them to come up with 10 unique pictures for the same prompt.
Drawing offers a great opportunity for kids to learn about how practice and perseverance can help them improve. Try saving a drawing your child makes each month, and then put them all together in order at the end of a year. You and your child will be impressed by the obvious growth they’ve done over the course of a year. Your child is always growing and learning in many, many ways, but this is a very tangible and visual way to see some of that growth!

There are a few ways you can get these drawing clips. First, you can try one for free right now. If you want to try others, you can purchase the Drawing Clips activity on the The Trip Clip website, or you can get a PDF that includes all of the drawing clips on Teachers Pay Teachers.