Writing and drawing are part of the fine motor skills which
include pasting, cutting out, molding playdough etc. Some
children take longer than others to develop these skills and
as in all other areas of development, there is no absolute
date when a child should be doing this. A child of two who
clutches a pencil in his chubby fist and scribbles
haphazardly over the paper is drawing or writing. He is not
retarded if he only starts scribbling a little later. The
same applies to all stages of the motor development. We are
discussing `average ages.'
At about three or three and a half, children begin to draw.
Their pictures include many circles. They might try drawing a
face without features and without a body. At this age,
slanted lines are still difficult for a child. From four and
a half, children become much more proficient. They should be
holding a crayon or paint brush in a pincer grip instead of
in a fist. They can draw a person with stick arms and legs
protruding from a body or maybe just form a face with
features. They can draw a house, a tree and flowers. By five
and a half, they can more or less keep within the lines when
coloring. Naturally, this is on the assumption that they have
had plenty of opportunity to practice their skills.
Left-handed children evince their preference at a very early
age. Right handed children might take up to four years to
decide on which is their stronger hand, but after the age of
four or older, children who change the crayon from one hand
to the other while they are drawing need checking. The
preferring hand shows that one side of the body is stronger
than the other. If neither side proves to be stronger, he may
have a definite weakness in muscle tone, which needs
therapy.
Children express their feelings and experiences by means of
drawings. The drawings are not always recognizable without
the child's accompanying clarification but that is
immaterial. The child is expressing himself through his
pictures.
A little girl in kindergarten used to draw lively colorful
pictures. In her second year, she began to chose only black
or dark brown crayons, black felt tips and black paint. After
several weeks of this, as the class was painting one day, she
took the black paint and painted over every inch of the white
paper. Looking at her work, the teacher shook her head rather
disapprovingly at the sight of this `picture.' The little
girl tore up her sheet and burst into tears. Only then did
the teacher discover that her mother had been in the hospital
for several months. One certainly cannot judge the trend of a
child's feelings from one picture at a time, however; it has
to be a whole series.
If a child is jealous of one of his siblings, he may exclude
that child from his paintings when he is drawing the family!
If there is a wedding in the family, you might find him
drawing a chosson and kalla or perhaps a band
playing. A family trip may produce cars, cows and fields.
When parents generally show interest in the pictures a child
brings from school and perhaps ask for interpretation of some
aspect, the child will feel that he can draw, and will
continue to do so. Those parents who hang their children's
creations on the fridge or somewhere else on display are
doing them a great service. It is irrelevant whether it is a
recognizable picture or not. A quiet introverted child needs
more praise and approbation than one who never stops talking.
It is truly a way of expressing himself.
Some children do not feel confident enough to draw,
especially if classmates have ridiculed their efforts. It is
worth encouraging them and even helping them. Some have poor
hand/eye coordination and find painting and drawing extremely
difficult. Whatever their ability, they do need constant
encouragement for their efforts. Children get quite upset if
they find their mother stealthily sneaking some pictures and
putting them into the waste bin. It is quite impossible to
store the masses of artwork the children bring from school,
so if you do want to dispose of some, do it when the child is
in school and make sure he does not discover this masterpiece
in the garbage at any time.
Trained psychologists set great store by their analysis of a
child's drawing. For instance, if he draws the family, what
size does he make himself in relation to his siblings? Or if
he omits the mouth in a face, or the door or window from a
house, they claim he has problems. The position of objects in
the picture also plays an important part in their findings,
e/g., a house positioned on the side instead of in the center
of the picture.
As mentioned, they analyze the use of color. They are not
concerned about the standard of the art work at all. Parents
often ask when they can tell if their child really has an
artistic bent. Does it matter? If he enjoys painting and
drawing, it is an excellent outlet for his emotions, as
writing is for older children. Although they are convinced at
the time that their child was exceptional, when the child is
older and produces really amazing work, parents can have it
framed as constant proof.
