Teaching Kids to Draw…

April showers bring May flowers. Or at least that is what we are used to hearing this time of year, right? For many people in the northern part of the US, spring just doesn’t seem to know if it wants to come or not. The weather here has been cold, wet, warm, snowy, and keeps on changing. It can’t make up its mind. Therefore, the kids may not be able to get outside much right now, so what can they do? Why not let them learn to draw? My daughter, now 13 taught herself how to draw. She began being creative and artsy back around the age of 5 and has grown with it ever since. I asked her if she’d share her secret for how she learned to draw with everyone, and of course, she said yes! The funny thing about it is that back when we were kids, we did something similar to learn to draw…just a little bit different. So, let’s see what she has to share…

Here is what you will need:

• Computer or tablet
• Printer paper
• Pencil
• Black marker
• Coloring items such as markers, colored pencils, and crayons (optional)

To start, you’ll want to let your child pick something they love. My daughter tends to choose animals as she’s an animal lover. Maybe your child likes smurfs, cookies, or even unicorns. Go to Google and type it in. Then add how to draw prior to the item.

For example: “How to draw a cookie”.  This will pull up images of a cookie that is black and white rather than color. Next, you’ll want to place a sheet of printer paper on top of the photo and tape it in place. This will prevent it from slipping during the process. Next, have them take a pencil and trace it. Yes, trace it. This is the first step to learning how to draw. From there, they will remove it from the tablet/computer and trace with a black marker. Yes, they will trace it a second time in a sense. And finally, let them color it. This part just makes it more fun than a learning process.

Now, you may be asking how that teaches you to draw, right? Simple…you are tracing the lines of the picture. Every time they trace it is helping them imprint those motions, that photo, and the whole process in their minds.  My daughter would spend an hour or so each day tracing different images and coloring them. Now, she can freehand a lot of them anytime she wants without even looking at them. It’s a great way for them to learn to draw.

The children can even take their images and add their own twists to it be it adding a bow, changing colors, adding a background, or anything their imagination chooses. One last thing, you remember how I mentioned earlier that it was similar to how we learned as kids?  Prior to taking Art classes in high school, when we wanted to learn to draw we took tracing paper which is rare to find nowadays, and we’d trace coloring book pages. Some of our coloring books even came with tracing paper between the pages for that specific reason. Not only that, but we also had “How to Draw” books that we could trace, mimic the motions, and follow step by step directions on how to draw each item. That’s another thing that is rare to find today.

In a day of an overabundance of technology, let’s boost our child’s imaginations and artistic abilities!

Misty is a mama of 2 special needs kids, one of which she virtual schools.  She is a wahm (you can check out one of her sites HERE) who enjoys being involved in her kids’ lives both in and out of school. She enjoyed writing and crafting, being outdoors but especially being at home snugging her babies.