# What does a 3-4 year old's drawing normally look like?



## waiting2bemommy

Ds and I were rewriting his chore list today and I encouraged him to draw a picture of each item on the list as a way of decorating it. He is almost 3.5, will be 4 in December, and every one of his drawings looked like his 1yo sister's scribbles. He was very upset about his drawing, and he rarely wants to draw anymore.

He is already in occupational therapy, and I do the "prescribed" activities with him every day, but they haven't said anything about drawing. It's been a while since I taught 3 yo preschool so I was wondering if you all have a 3 or young 4, or remember what your child could do at that age, and if you taught them how to draw simple things, how?

He can draw a circle, a straight line, the letters A, B, E, X and T, and that is after many, many dedicated "lessons" showing him how because he wanted to be able to do it. He knows how to write his name but just can't seem to manage it without hand over hand assistance. He knows what letter goes next, and can tell me how to form the letter (I have little sayings for each letter) but he can't do it. He can't copy at all.

I feel bad for him because today he broke his crayon because it wouldn't "go the right way and make things look nice."

I always hang up his drawings on the fridge and let him know *I* like his art. But he knows they look like scribbles and so he won't draw anymore for me. I just feel so bad for him.


----------



## love4bob

Poor guy!  Well my 4 year old DD is really good at drawing, but she always has been(she is just an artistic creative child in general though). I think boys and girls develop at different rates for things like drawing. My friends DS is 4 as well, but he can hardly draw much that resembles what it is supposed to. He excels in other areas though that my DD doesn't.


----------



## MountainMamaGC

My daughter is 3 and she still scribbles. She is not interested in following instruction. I think she is capable of drawing a circle if she wants to, but she doesnt want to. She feigns interest and then scribbles. She will scribble over anything I draw. I dont think she is behind, but I dont know that drawing is a milestone. I am not going to worry about it until she is kindergarten age.

Sorry I am not much help.


----------



## treegardner

DS will be 3 in July and doesn't show much interest in drawing or coloring, but when he does it is all scribbles.


----------



## eclipse

My older two had really good fine motor skills and were drawing very good, recognizable pictures at that age, and could write any letter, as long as they could see an example (not always neatly or small - but recognizable). DS2 is 5.5 and only now drawing things that are recognizable - people are still big circles for the body and head together with sick legs and arms coming off at weird angles.


----------



## dmpmercury

My dd was still mostly scribbling at 3 with am line or a circle thrown in. I remember the developmental things at her pediatrician asked at that age if they could draw straight lines and circles. My ds is 2.5 and they just came to evaluate him after a year of EI and he came ahead in fine motor and he can't really draw anything yet just circles and lines. It is good he can do a few letters already. I know some kids are drawing pictures at 3 but not all are.


----------



## St. Margaret

Well my just turned four yo girl can draw detailed (but funny looking) people and animals and things, but my mom (who's taken a lot of early child dev courses and works with kids) says that what's average is one feature per year. So a three year old draws people with three features, head, eyes, mouth maybe. And a four year old might add legs onto the head, making those little squat figures that most kids make.

I would ask at OT about the drawing if you are going anyway but i agree that it can vary a lot especially for boys.


----------



## 4evermom

It's average for kids to not start drawing representationally until they are 4. So I'd expect a 3 yo to make spirals, X, and O. Sure, some are drawing nice stick figure type people but half of the kids that age are not. Preschool really turned my ds off from any drawing or writing. It was a shame because he had just turned 4 and was just starting to draw letters and people. That all stopped for a full year and he never warmed up to it. But he's a sensitive perfectionist which is a contributing factor.

Your ds might prefer markers to crayons. Crayons require a lot of pressure and the marks still don't look nice. What worked best for my ds was a chalk board or a dry erase board so he could rub out any lines he didn't like and redo them. If you have a camera, you can then take a picture if you want to preserve any drawings.


----------



## Magali

My 3.5 year old drew this. It is him and his little sister. He was wearing a winter hat with long straps when he drew it, so that is what is coming out of his head lol. i took a pic of it because usually his drawing is a lot different, like lines and stuff. He likes to make snakes and spiders.


----------



## mommariffic

DD is 3.5 and draws just like the above poster - she draws our family...and she draws monsters a lot! She will draw a huge face with four eyes and a huge mouth and go "look momma a four eyed monster!" so we have a ton of those around (she started doing those maybe a few months before the more detailed people)


----------



## meemee

since your son wants to learn and is frustrated i would say try different mediums. pens and pencils and paper is hard for them at that age.

try dry erase board, chocolate pudding, chalk outside, those magnetic toy writers, shaving foam, on windows, crayons on big boxes. also try different forms of art. painting with brush, sponge.

take photographs and print and put them on your fridge.

at that age dd dd amazing things - crayons in hte bathtub, dry erase boards, painting with her feet and hands on 4x6 paper - never really on paper and pen.


----------



## eclipse

From the age of about 2 to 4.5, all ds2 would draw were circular scribbles all over pages. When he finally started talking, he told me it was spaghetti. No amount of effort or suggestion on anyone's part could get him to draw anything but spaghetti.


----------



## KCMichigan

I teach 3 yr old preschool.

We just did assessments for the state--- the goal for our kiddos (had to be 3 by sept 1st) was to do circles and vertical lines. Our of our 12 kiddos 11 can do this. So I would say that by age 3.5 (which the kiddos are by this point in the year) circles and lines would be a 'milestone'. Also, being able to 'string' large beads (think large pasta noodles) and to cut a ragged line with scissors are considered skills to master by age 4.

Again-- our of 12 kids 10 can cut a ragged line, 11 could string large noodles. The 12th kiddo is our youngest at 'not' quite 3.5 (he will remain in our class again next year since he is the only student that did not make the cut off date- he is a winter Bday).

In perspective-- 2/12 can write their names, 6/12 can draw a person with body/arms/legs/face, 10/12 can string beads. Kids age range from 3.4 to 4.6. It is a solid middle class preschool. The kiddos that could 'not' do these activities are all not yet 4. All my 4 yr olds could do these skills.

By age 4- if a child is still 'fisting' ( grabbing writing tool with a full hand instead of a tripod grasp of any kind), can only do 'open' circles ( circular shape, but more of a squiggle instead of a closed shape), can not manipulate small shapes, cant use scissors in a basic way (think able to open close them), or string large beads- I would look into some fine motor activities. After a few months if you see no improvement in fine motor abilities, I would ask for an OT evaluation.

Some kiddos have perfect fine motor skills, but no interest in drawing so circles, people, name, etc come later. Other kids 'want' to do these things- but are physcially unable due to fine motor control. OT is more appropriate for the kids that really have a fine motor concern, vs lack of interest.

At just 3.5-- I would keep doing your OT activities and allow for a lot of fine motor play (play doug, sand, large blocks, etc). Often - there is a large burst of development between 3.5 and 4- if you see no improvement talk to your OT some more.


----------



## ~cassie

Aidan wll be 4 in July and doesn't really draw anything more elaborate than a circle. Lots of scribbles. He does have fine motor problems--still 1/2 way fisting crayons/pencils. Also--my 6 yr old--he is just NOW getting better at drawing. I think my kids just have no artistic ability/interest in drawing.


----------



## 95191

Quote:


> In perspective-- 2/12 can write their names,


Isn't it 3.5?


----------



## eclipse

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *serenbat*
> 
> Isn't it 3.5?


I think she meant 2 out of 12 of the kids in her class


----------



## bobandjess99

errr. My 3 - will be 4 in december kid can barely scribble. He has *zero* interest in writing/coloring.


----------



## JudiAU

Ds turns 4 at the end of the month. He is into drawing, taught himself to draw the whole alpahaber at around 3.2 y (I walked over one day and he had drawn his name), can draw animals, people with torsos/heads/limbs/faces and loves to draw monsters. The magna doodle was a big part of his success. Something about it is very freeing vs writing on paper. You can change your mind. No evidence. He usually does it on th potty. : ).

Also better quality art supplies might help. Stockman crayons are fancy, in a tin, and don't break. Sort of lends a sense of excitement to drawing. Also really big paper. Also good quality colored pencil a like lyra ferby short ones are really easy to move across paper. We have a cute little holder.

And just wait... About half the kids at our (fancy, privleged, play based) preschool still scribble their names. And pretty much the kids who couldnt do it at the begining ofmthe year still cant do it. No change.


----------



## waiting2bemommy

Maybe I need to read this thread to ds!









I'm glad to hear that he has plenty of company in the scribbling department! There are some really great suggestions here....we do have a magna doodle (have had one since ds was 1-ish) and both of my kids like to draw on it. This is part of the problem....dd appears to pick things up very quickly and was scribbling with crayons before her 1st birthday. She does put them in her mouth sometimes, but she really, really likes to draw. I have a picture from her and picture from ds up next to each other on the fridge and they look exactly the same except that ds had scribbled a hole into his. DP at a glance, thought they were both dd's, which really ticked ds off.

It seems like this, at least for ds, is one of those things that he just can't rush or be taught, no matter how much he might like to be a little Picasso. It's developmental, kind of like peeing the bed at night, which is another sore spot in our house. After all, I have worked with him (or given him opportunity to be creative) with drawing shapes, writing and tracing since he was very young, like 1 year old, pretty much every day, and he still can't draw a square, even though I know he first started tracing squares & triangles (and loving it) when he was about 20 months.

I feel bad seeing him be so hard on himself. He loves to be creative, but he has a perfectionist streak and wants things just perfect, or not at all (like me!). I will try putting the crayons up for awhile and maybe doing some fingerpainting and cut and paste activities instead this week. I think, though, that I still need to try to help him understand that mistakes are ok, that art is just for fun, and no matter how it comes out, if you had fun in the process, it's all good. Maybe I should show him the stuff I've been producing on my new sewing machine that I haven't yet got the hang of. lol.


----------



## Polliwog

I've worked as a preschool teacher and then an early childhood education specialist. I would lay off the hand over hand writing unless HE is the one who wants to do it. Writing is really something that needs to come from within the child. I'd also avoid "teaching" him to write using a particular method. Most little kids learn to form letters themselves, and the mechanics of formal lettering can get in the way of that.

Put away the crayons if they are frustrating for him for now. Using his finger to draw/write in wet sand or shaving cream is a great activity.


----------



## hakeber

Benjamin drew this when he was 4.5 old.



It was his first ever recognizable drawing. Before that his drawings were all very chaotic scribbles. He did his best drawings with a variety of colors, and each color represented a different animal or event. One of my favorites looked like a mess to most people but to him it was a whale spouting a rainbow. (think a big purple blob on a blue and white background with scribbles of all colors. Now at six he can draw elaborate machines (think Dr Seuss style inventions), and landscapes, all with recognizable shapes.

Boys actually tend to see the world in movement and so their pictures tend to be more chaotic looking for longer. It is best to praise the energy and the movement in the picture. Express how you love the motion he creates. DS was really sensitive too and always asked me to draw for him, especially because his pre-school teachers would give him low marks for coloring outside the lines, struggling with geometric shapes, and choosing the "wrong" color. I had a talk with them about age appropriate expectations for boys and helped them find ways to encourage his artistic talents. So far, so good.

His 16 mo sister is already able to hold a pen like an adult and draw some recognizable shapes. I think girls have notably better fine motor skills at younger ages, but that with time these even out. DS is now (age 6) one of the best artists in his class.


----------



## EviesMom

I have a 3 1/2 year old boy. He draws scribble-type figures. I'll see if I can find one. I have drawings from school from December. One is his "writing," which is up and down scribbles in different colors, in a line like writing is. One is circles in different colors. Apparently they asked him what he drew, and although he's a very creative storyteller normally, his answer now was "circles." He does do better with markers, and he loves painting over pencil or crayon. I have a pic from relatively recently when he drew "Daddy walking the dog." Daddy is a little circle with very very very long legs, and arms, one of which runs all the way to the dog (leash I guess). The dog is an oval with many many little legs at the bottom. I think 3.5 may be a big age for frustration with wanting to make more elaborate drawings but not having the ability too. I don't push writing or drawing here, but he's getting frustrated when things don't turn out how he wants them in art and in other parts of life.


----------



## MomtoDandJ

It breaks my heart when the little ones get so frustrated! The good news is that his fine motor skills will eventually develop and he'll likely be a great writer/drawer.

Something that worked for us were printable tracing worksheets. We used the ones with the basic lines at first and then progressed to the ones with curves, loops, etc. It was pretty easy for my son to just trace the line and then he felt so proud of himself. So I'm not sure if it was the practice or just the boost of confidence, but after a few weeks with these worksheets, his skills really improved and he started to love drawing again.

I do think you're doing a great job of displaying his art and telling him how much you love it! That's so great for his confidence


----------



## dawncayden

My ds was drawing scribbles until about 5. He could do letters and shapes if he really tried but mostly he'd say he was tired after about 2 minutes of trying and would get frustrated and stop. I started to encourage proper grip when holding a pencil/crayon etc. and that did WONDERS. He all of a sudden could spend an hour drawing and writing. He all of a sudden LOVED doing letters and they looked really good. He never liked coulouring books because he'd never stay in the lines so he'd just scribble crazy all over the page. But now it's perfectly in the lines.

I didn't worry about it at 3.5 I just let him hold the pencil with his fist and try as much as he wanted. But at 5, I started watching some youtube videos called Hand writing withour Tears. They had some great ideas about proper grip. I think it made all the difference.


----------



## Jenni1894

My son will be 7 on Sun and his writing is still not the best. As opposed to his 3 (in Nov) sister who does very well. It wasn't until recently that his writing is clear and letters formed well. He's also really gotten into drawing and draws quite well, nicely detailed! He went thru a I don't want to write or draw, just color pages stage, but now he fills pads up!!

So I agree w/pp's...it will come, he just needs a break.


----------



## sunnygir1

I would totally try to help him step away from it a little, or encourage other media as pps have suggested. The "problem" is definitely not that he can't draw or write these things at his age, but that he is so upset about it. Where is that coming from? I mean, frustration is normal, but what happened to make him decide that he ought to be able to do it? My dd writes her name in an awesome and barely legible way at 4 years old, and she can sort of copy letters, but lots of them don't turn out like what I write at all -- she certainly couldn't at 3yo.

I wouldn't ask the doctor or OT about it -- certainly not in front of your son. I would try to downplay it and encourage him to enjoy drawing and writing.


----------



## waiting2bemommy

dawncayden, he is doing handwriting without tears right now, in OT. She gives him pages to do at home between sessions and he does seem to like it alright. We have some of those grippy things, and you're right, they are helpful.

As far as why he's upset, he's used to being good at things. He is smart, wherever we go people tell him he is smart because he knows random facts that sound surprising out of a 3 year old's mouth (facts about the presidents, for example) and he talks a lot and asks a lot of questions and pick things up quickly. He usually leanrs how to do things with very little effort. This, and social skills, are the two things where that is not true. And he has no idea that his social skills stink, lol. So this not getting things perfectly when he expects it is new to him and he doesn't like it.


----------



## habitat

I feel for him! I'm 23, spent four years at a prestigious art school, have exhibited work in galleries in 3 major cities and overseas, and I've always felt that *I cannot draw*. Then I realized that I can draw - I just draw differently. My creative focus is not in drawing, but it was always kind of this spooky untouchable thing, until I realized that "representation" really isn't necessarily the only way to create gorgeous images.

That's not to say that he won't ever be able to form representations. He will, of course. But that can have very little to do with his identity as a "good artist". He's right where he needs to be for now.

Fortunately for him, he does draw, and will continue developments in his drawing (and writing, btw), his way, in his time.

For creative confidence, I would maybe try giving him a disposable camera (for now) and display his favorite photos in frames. Talk to him about the art of photography, the art of video, the art of music, the art of dance, the art of sculpture, the art of mixed-media, the art of collage. Talk to him about documenting performances. Start looking at (and talking about) his building-block creations as architectural pieces. That's what they are! Start talking about different things that he does in terms of its integrity as art.

Also, scribble with him and love your scribbles.


----------



## Storm Bride

DS2 was only scribbling until shortly before his 5th birthday. He's going to be six in July, and he's only recently started being able to really draw what he wants to draw at all. He gets very, very frustrated (both his older siblings were, unfortunately for him, early with drawing and such - ds1 drew me a recognizable shark at just under two) with his inability to draw. What I'm seeing, though, is that he got started late on these skills, both in terms of interest (actually, he wanted to draw at about three, but really wanted to be able to slap a paint brush or pencil against paper and produce a Mona Lisa) and ability, and is now developing them at what seems to be a more normal rate.

You've already got your ds seeing an OT, so I think I'd mention this, just as a data point, but it really doesn't sound like anything to worry about.


----------



## Rlin

This is an excavator that DS drew a week ago. He is 2y10m. He loves to draw and is really into machines. He drew two control units, because one is for operating the excavator and the other one for sleeping (we just bought a camper  )


----------



## waiting2bemommy

So today I told ds we were going to draw on a big cardboard box that I had flattened out.

Both of the kidsw had a blast! Ds wanted me to draw, too, so I drew, but then it turned into him drawing and having me label his pictures. He did a frog and a truck this way, and as an added bonus he had a good time sounding out the spelling of each word as I wrote it. (He thinks reading/decoding/phonics/spelling is this really cool puzzle-ish game that we do. It's definitely not work to him.)

This is his picture from 2 days before I posted (his is on the left, his sister's in the one next to it)



And this is what he did today, with the big open space of the box:



I think this is big, because the second one, you can see where he drew circles for wheels,, on the truck, also the frog looks like rectangle but the two parallel lines were originally legs, then he "closed" them with that other line, telling me it needed a butt.

Habitat, you gave me a great idea. we live near a contemporary art museum. I'm sure there is some abstract work there, and maybe seeing "scribbles" hanging up in a museum would be encouraging to him. We definitely do talk in detail about his block creations and all his artwork. He loves playdough and has the same issue with that...wanting to create things but not having the dexterity to produce what he envisioned.


----------



## pianojazzgirl

My ds is a couple of months older than your ds and his drawing skills sound pretty much the same. He generally just scribbles, but can write the letters of his name if I coach him through it, and likewise will draw a person or animal if I coach him through it ("draw a circle for the face. ok, now he needs two eyes. and a nose?" etc). The basic shapes consist of wonky circles and lines.

My dd could write and draw somewhat better at that age (though nothing spectacular). I chalked it up to fine motor skill development differences between boys and girls.


----------



## MomtoDandJ

Just wanted to thank everyone for the posts and the pictures. It's so helpful to see what others are doing.


----------



## bluebirdmama

I haven't had a chance to read all of the replies but thought I would quickly chime in. My ds is 5.5 years old and his drawings now are pretty cool...however, he didn't draw anything recognizable until 4.5 years old. All he would do were scribbles. I was actually getting worried about him because he seemed interested in art but never actually drew anything. We decided not to worry about it. We would talk about colour or shape or pattern. We would have fun drawing zigzags or swirls or mixing paint to produce new colours. We would talk about lines - thick, thin, wavy. I also stopped drawing with him. I would sit beside him and play with the elements I just listed but I would never draw a picture of a house or a dog or a person. I found that he would get discouraged seeing how good I was compared to him and he would give up and ask me to draw for him. BTW, I'm not good...but I'm 30 years older than him.  Eventually he started doing people on his own and I was secretly so happy and relieved.

By contrast, his little sister has been drawing the most outstanding stick people since she was 2.5 year old.


----------



## Jacquelyn

Oh man, that sounds so so much like what my daughter did. Between 3.5 and 4 she would get soooo frustrated because her scribbly drawings/shapes/letters were not turning out like she wanted. Then around 4 yrs she turned some little developmental corner and all of a sudden could draw legible pictures and letters -it was almost an overnight change and it was neat to watch her go through it. Betting your sweet boy is not far off from something like that. Keep up the gentle encouragement, and let him take a break from it for awhile if he wants, cheers!


----------



## tex.mom

My 4 yr. old son is extremely verbally expressive, but his fine motor skills are practically nonexistent. He could recite his ABC's by a year old but he still can't write them. At T-Ball the other day everyone on the team was asked to sign a ball, one for each child, and he was upset that he was the only one who can't write his name--although he can read short words pretty much as well as his 6 yr. old brother. Needless to say his drawings are pretty shaky as well. I totally don't worry about it, but I did pick up a couple basic tracing books at an education store (to help strenghthen the muscles in his hands) and he really enjoys working on his own "homework." I just feel like some kids develop faster in some areas and slower in others.


----------



## mamanoko

As a preschool teacher and mother of a 4.5 DD I would recommend giving him lots of different mediums to choose from, just put art supplies out for him to choose, do some drawing with him, just casually for fun. Some children have no interest at all in drawing or writing, he will pick it up eventually. Children develop on many different levels at different time and skills. Encourage him to just have fun with it, give him examples just by sitting with him and enjoying drawing yourself. You are his best teacher!!!


----------



## tankgirl73

My DD has drawn recognizable stuff since she was 2, but we could tell early on that she was "advanced" in that area, I wouldn't call that the expected usual time frame at all. She has professional artists on both sides of the family (my mom, and DH's grandmother) so it's no big surprise. What your son is doing sounds pretty normal.

What's not 'normal' is his being so upset about it. Most kids love their scribbles and have entire stories based around them, even if we can't make heads or tails out of it lol... It seems that maybe his brain is recognizing the difference but his hands aren't yet able to cooperate enough to do what's in his head. I wonder if the OT might in part be responsible -- not that I'm saying it's a bad thing (I don't know your reasons for doing it, what his issues are) -- just that the emphasis on specific, regimented, motor activities might be limiting his free exploration and giving him false expectations of what he should be able to do. It might not be connected at all, but I can't help but wonder.

Since he is doing so much regimented work, I would try to counter that with as much FREE creative work/play as you can muster. Do painting activities with him where the goal is to create broad swaths of glorious colour, just revel in a whole page of red, then do a page that's half red and half yellow and watch it turn orange where they meet and seep into each other. Wet-on-wet watercolour is great for this. Look into Waldorf painting methodologies for the preschool/early elementary set. The idea is that the goal is larger, freer motions with more abstract results, rather than small, specific, detailed drawings. And, importantly, do them WITH him -- by which I don't mean "help him make his", I mean "make one of your own alongside his". Then he sees that this is something legitimate because grownups do it too.


----------



## Sweetk

Thank you. This was incredibly helpful (and reassuring) to me.


----------



## meemee

waiting2bmommy - from your cardboard drawing it seems like your son prefers the results of whole arm movement rather than just wrist movement as we see in adults. i think that's an age appropriate thing the reason why kids tend to draw on walls.

does he have that kids easel from Ikea? so he can draw from the shoulder? i recall at 2 dd enjoying that - never with a paper and writing instrument.

i mean he already gets that with his OT.

do you have a local newspaper in town? you can buy rolls of giant newsprint for v. cheap. turn the cardboard into an easel and then give him all sorts of instruments to draw and paint with.

and btw i see your son is a perfectionist. start working on that now - in whatever ways that works for him. the only thing i knew that worked for my dd was talking to her. now she says ok mom i am going to take a deep breath and smell the roses. most of the time now at 8 she is able to self regulate her frustrations. she was the kind of child who wouldnt even attempt it till she was confident she was going to get it. so him being so frustrated and not liking his work, is very, very normal for a perfectionist child.

also dd is in 3rd grade. she still hates writing. she will do the minimum required. she is not the only one. there are other kids in her class for whom writing does not come easy. while others write pages and pages while dd just writes maybe half a page. the teacher has recognised that and so allows kids to either type or write their projects. dd choses typed so far.


----------



## Disco Infiltrator

I had the same concerns about DS (4) and even reached out to some other parents because I was concerned that he a) wasn't doing representational drawing and b) was a perfectionist because he would always ask us to draw for him. I found out that there were actually a lot of kids who were just doing scribbles his age and older. So that made me feel better. That was about four months ago. DS turned four six weeks ago and suddenly he started doing representational drawing right out of the blue. It was like a switch, one day scribbles, the next day he's drawing circles and figures and faces with teeth! It's easy to worry, and I think maybe boys can be slower in this area than girls, so if you're around a lot of girls it becomes easy to feel like something is wrong (as in our case). I think your son will do it when he's ready.

I love what Habitat said about drawing. Beautiful. Reminds me that I need to embrace my DS and DD where they are and not put my own worries onto them.


----------



## MaerynPearl

My daughter could draw things that were clearly whatever she was drawing by age 3. But she's shown a lot of talent artistically.

My son? He's 8 and still couldn't draw a decent picture if asked to. But he's not one to draw much... he prefers building things.


----------



## Disco Infiltrator

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MaerynPearl*
> 
> My son? He's 8 and still couldn't draw a decent picture if asked to. But he's not one to draw much... he prefers building things.


I think so much depends on interests. As parents we sit around and worry and that worry can lead to pushing, and if the kid just isn't a drawing kid, that can really hurt him/her. I did push DS on drawing a few times and felt just terrible. He may do art later, he may not, but I don't want to have him hate drawing because of me pushing.


----------



## HappyMommy2

Privacy Reminder: This thread is FEATURED ON FACEBOOK.


----------



## NettleTea

My 3 yr old uses these:

http://www.stubbypencilstudio.com/product/CROC_CRAYONROCKS16/Crayon-Rocks-16-Colors/

According to the website:

"The pebble shape crayons are easy to hold and encourage the use of tripod grip to develop fine motor skills. They are specially shaped to allow small fingers to color in large, wide strokes, promoting confidence in creating art. Used by occupational therapists and teachers to develop skills that promote handwriting practice."

Worth a shot perhaps. However, I think scribbles are not unusual at this age and even older.


----------



## towerofshelly

My 4 year old daughter drew this a few weeks ago. She usually draws dinosaurs and dragons, so this was a departure from her 'norm'. I think she was remembering some poster she saw in the doctor's office when I took her for her annual check up. It cracked me up. I thought it was a cyclops, but she explained that what I thought was an eye was actually the person's brain. She showed me that these are the bones, and the food goes down this way...and the way to the end.


----------



## pinklucy

Really interesting to hear about boys seeing the world in movement. Ds had no interest in drawing until he was about 6 but quickly became an avid drawer. In terms of accuracy his drawings look very simple but there is an amazing energy and movement to his pictures that I love and other people enjoy too. At 7.5 he still draws stick figures but I think it's largely because he draws to express his imagination and just wants to get it on the page as soon as possible! What amazes me is that despite his simple style the objects are usually recognisable and the stories the pictures tell are fantastic!

At 3.5 he could only manage feathery little line scribbles and couldn't have represented anything recognisable at all. Just let him go at his own pace and see what emerges!


----------



## onyxravnos

DSD at 5 was doing some pretty good art. drawings that actually LOOK like people, places, or things. DS1 on the other hand as JUST started making 'people figures' and it's still very very basic. If left to his own devices his art is not anything that looks like anything . i've come to grips with this, really seems to be a boy thing.


----------



## maptome

DD's not quite 3.5 She is capable of drawing a circle, cross, lines, perhaps more. I haven't asked her to try anything for almost a year, and she's been doing nonrepresentational scribbles by choice. She's not very interested in drawing or painting as a form of expression. She mostly enjoys exploring media.



ETA, wait, this thread is over a year old...


----------



## kayleesmom

Subscribing to this thread my son will be 4 in feb. n he is a bit delayed I think.


----------



## Sionnain

A three and a half year old writing letters? That is already an achievement! If he feels a lurking unspoken sense of pressure and disappointment from you in the emotional atmosphere, he is likely to be picking up on that and feeling distressed. Displaying work that children aren't proud of is not really good, despite your good intentions. It's a permanent displayed reminder to him of his inner sense of dissatisfaction or failure. For example, would you like an ugly photo of yourself put up on display in front of all the people in your workplace or family home?
There is no hurry, children who don't read or write until age seven are often incredibly literate and artistic. I'm also a teacher and won't be teaching my child drawing, reading or writing until about the same age. I work with too many kids who hate all of that, especially boys, and have no creativity or joy in drawing, reading or writing. I believe it's because they were pushed to early and not left to play, and come to it at there own pace and joy... Which is, I believe the natural law of human development, but gets squashed by our fast past, clinical, prescribed, over anxious society that pushes kids too early.
A 3.5 year old should experience art and drawing freely, and totally independently, with no adult pressure, even if there is diagnosed "delays in development". The joy of colour and form is a deep experience to the child. It should be free from adult interference and the need to perform set exercises and tasks. Provide the beautiful drawing materials, and leave it up to the choice of the child. It is unique expression and the inner joy experienced by the child that should be kept sacred and protected.
Can you force a flower to bloom? It only blossoms at its own mysterious time, according to natural laws we can't always know or understand.
May your son grow in beauty and the in joy of expressing himself with freedom.


----------

