Allows the artist to showcase their talents and interests with a one of a kind project. Process Art is whatever they create from whatever they decide to explore and create with . There is no model to copy, it just their creativity, the elements set before them, and your encouragement. It is the easiest way to teach Anyone Art -for children of all ages, special needs, and adults with an interest in art. ***TIP-I usually allow them to add anything they want use on the project to help keep them interested and comfortable in expressing their creative self.
Kids Seniors Special Needs Children Art Activities Drawing Chalk Markers Pencils Easy Fun Paint
Making Drawing Fun
Drawing is a fun way to develop or redevelop writing and motoric skills. But to a child drawing is not meant to be just pencil marks on paper, you have to combine it with other forms of art and give the line some flair!!
As soon as your toddler can hold a crayon comfortably, he's ready to scribble with it. By giving him plenty of opportunities to doodle to his hearts content, you can help him develop strength and control in his fingers now — and eventually, help him understand that marks and lines can represent objects, shapes and letters. Some say that drawing allows us to take the line out on a stroll. I kind of like that because it sounds like the beginning of an adventure of exploring with drawing tools and supplies. Practicing drawing helps train the eye to see what is really there and not what you presume to be there. Drawing helps train the hand to be comfortable with using, um, drawing utensils. Drawing is easy to start and stop- it can be done anywhere, at any time. You don’t need a big space or fancy setup to draw; you just need to be willing to do it.
There are few things more entertaining than their answers to the question of what is happening in their drawing. So I always gave Hope the opportunity to tell me about her drawing. (It was always fun and entertaining to listening to.)
Those lines and swiggles are usually about something that is important to them, so don’t throw them away. Hope liked to document or draw when she learned something new. So we had a “Can do” pile of drawings. We also had a pile of drawings of new “flowers, butterflies and wildlife” that she saw in our yard or as we explored our world in the Colorado Mountains. Then the biggest stack of drawings, were the “things she loved”.
Taming the Scribble-Special help for those who find it difficult to draw
By age four there should be some line control forming. As they grow and mature, their drawings will become more detailed and reflect the world around them. The earlier you let your medical doctor know your child is lagging, the earlier you can get intervention. You can also get their eyes checked and an occupational therapy evaluation as well. Drawing is a complicated process, always encourage their creativity, without giving them any negative vibes! Adapt every lesson to their strengths and interests. Hope drew with a paintbrush or marker for most projects.
I will combine both the Monart Method and breaking drawing down into increments like I have in the past and drilling those skills until mastery. Mona Brookes suggests that to draw well, we need to be more observant of the 5 kinds of lines that things are composed of: dots, circles, straight lines, curved lines, and angles. One should know that in Brookes book, "Drawing with Children", she also includes a section of ways to see the lines and shapes in everything that we draw. Hope did well with that. If she could find a remnant of something familiar then she would challenge herself and experiment with the rest of the way.
Brookes says: “Everyone loves to draw if they are given a nonthreatening environment with enough structure for success and enough freedom for creativity...The development of perceptual and analytical skills increase critical thinking and problem solving. However, you have to have a firm foundation of skills in order to creatively express yourself joyfully....Artistic success also builds self-esteem, and this confidence is transferable to other educational areas.”
Arts and crafts engage multiple brain areas simultaneously and improve bilateral coordination between the left and right sides of the brain, leading to immediate and future cognitive development. Activities like arts and crafts accelerate the development of muscles in the hands and fingers, improving fine motor skills that are essential for school success in the earliest formal years.
Face-to-face interaction in the early years is critical for optimal social development. Arts and crafts promote rich social interactions that help develop or maintain language skills and social cognitive abilities for older children and adults as in understanding emotions. A lot of the ideas involve imaginative thinking, so be sure to encourage your little kids to be as creative as possible.
Preschoolers and kindergartners can dictate their story to you while older kiddos can write their own. These drawing for kids printables also work well for copywork. Write the story your little kids dictate to you on the printable, then let them use their very own special composition notebook to draw the picture, create a scene, and then copy their story.
These Free Printable Spring Directed Drawing worksheets are an adorable and perfect way to welcome warmer weather. Explore bugs and birds while learning how to write and draw with these free printable kindergarten worksheets. In just five simple steps, your little learners can draw a beehive, a bird, or even a bird nest. These printables are a great way to encourage creative thinking, problem-solving, and even nature study.
Use them as a fun way to prompt your little learners to explore the outdoors and write about what they observe in the process. These spring drawings for kids printables would pair perfectly with this Free Printable Spring Nature Journaling for Kids.
Read more about nature in the spring with these wonderful read alouds.
Sailboats, ice cream, and seashells make this free Summer directed drawing printable pack the perfect way to explore fun summer themes with your kids. Students can build confidence in their own creativity and artistic abilities as they learn to draw these adorable Summer themed images.
After a few of these directed drawing printables, your early learners will be ready to tackle their own creative drawing projects with newly discovered confidence in their ability to create art.
Owls, pumpkins, and foxes are all included in this adorable Fall directed drawing activity pack for free. It’s a great way to practice important skills like following multi-step directions with your preschool and kindergarten learners this Fall. While drawing their own cute Fall critters and pumpkins your kids will be learning to follow directions more closely and pay attention to details.
Learn more about the creatures in this Fall directed drawing activity pack with these picture books.
These free printable directed drawing pages have adorable cold weather themes perfect for exploring creativity in the classroom or at home during the winter months. You can explore snowflakes, penguins, and pine trees as your kids learn to create their own with the steps in these free printable drawing pages.
Continue learning about snowflakes by creating your own paper snowflakes together. Then, learn more about this special weather phenomenon with
from the San Diego Zoo and practice walking like a penguin around your living room.
Making Early Drawing Skills Fun
For young children, drawing is an early form of writing. It acts as a bridge to formal literacy, where scribbling and sketching lead to forming letters and words.
Drawing acts as a fundamental precursor and a supportive tool for letter writing, particularly in developing fine motor skills, building confidence, and fostering storytelling abilities. By engaging in drawing, individuals—especially children—build the necessary hand strength, spatial awareness, and creative thinking required for effective writing.
Prewriting shapes
Within their drawings, kids begin to explore making different shapes and lines. These usually include circles, horizontal and vertical lines, diagonal and intersecting lines. Practice with making these lines contributes to later success with letter formation.
Creativity, Confidence, and Independence
Finally, drawing is a great way for kids to gain independence and build confidence as they create their own one-of-a-kind masterpieces. They also get the chance to demonstrate their creativity and get their ideas onto paper.
There are tons of developmental benefits related to coloring and drawing and these tracing and drawing templatesare a great way to start! Grab your copy today!
Pre-Writing Shapes and Teaching your Toddler to Draw
What are pre-writing shapes and how and when should you be “teaching “ your toddler to do them?
How do you take your toddler from drawing scribbles or coloring in a coloring page to actually writing? Enter pre writing shapes
Pre-writing shapes are a major component of pre-writing skills and learning to draw.
Prewriting shapes are the strokes that letters, numbers and early drawings are made up of.
For example: the capital letter A has 2 diagonal lines and 1 horizontal line
Writing is actually a very coordinated and complex motor activity. It requires a lot of foundational development to happen first.
Skills used and required in pre-writing
When it comes to early childhood development always builds upon development. Meaning that for every new skill a toddler develops there are many underlying skills that need to be there first.
Learning to write definitely is a big developmental milestone. But it’s important to remember that there are SO many skills that need to be in place first. From fine motor skills, in-hand strength and coordination, understanding where their body is in space (spatial relations), sensory perception, bilateral coordination, visual skills, crossing the midline and so much more.
An amazing way to set our toddlers up for successful writing (later on-when it’s actually age appropriate) is by playing around with pre-writing shapes.
Normal development of drawing
Even drawing has a normal progression of development.
By the end of the first year we expect a child to be able to grasp a crayon and draw scribbles and vertical lines when you do the same next to them.
During the second year a toddler learns to draw a horizontal line as well as a circle when you show them how you are drawing it.
By age 3 your toddler will be able to copy a circle, vertical and horizontal line from a picture.
During the third year your toddler will also learn to imitate a cross or plus sign.
By age 4 your toddler will be able to copy the cross shape from a picture.
During the fourth year toddlers start drawing squares and left and right diagonal lines.
It’s only in the 5th year that we expect kids to start drawing an X and a triangle.
Summary of pre writing shapes according to age
1 year old: imitates vertical line
2 year old: imitates horizontal line and circle, and copies vertical line
3 year old: imitates + and copies horizontal line and circle
4 year old: imitates square, left and right diagonal lines (\ /) and copies plus sign.
5 year old: imitates triangle and copies square, left and right diagonal lines (\ /)
Difference between copying and imitating pre writing shapes
You might have noticed the words imitate and copy above. This is what they mean in the context of pre writing shapes
Imitate: After watching someone else draw the pre writing shape, the toddler is able to draw it themselves
Copy: the toddler can look at a picture of a pre-writing shape and reproduce it.
The difference is subtle but what it shows us is that toddlers first learn prewriting shapes through watching us draw.
When your toddler watches you draw a circle they are learning how to start the drawing, how to hold the pencil and how to move the crayon.
This also changes our understanding of how kids learn shapes. Not by following a dot-to-dot worksheet.
Why are pre-writing shapes important?
Development builds on development. It’s like a ladder. You HAVE to climb step by step.
Look on the internet and you will find tons of videos telling you to teach your toddler to draw complex shapes at age 3, and learn to write his letters by age 4. Along with many very cute printables or worksheets to help you do that.
And it feels (for us as the moms) so very good to give our child a worksheet and have them actually DO it.
Wow, yes! For that small moment, we get to actually succeed at something as a mom. They finish the worksheet and we feel like we have finally managed to teach our child something. I mean that’s our job as mamas anyway, right?
Doing a pre-writing worksheet is so much easier than teaching them to eat without messing, play by themselves or control their emotions.
The danger of skipping pre-writing shapes
The truth is that kids definitely can learn to write as toddlers. But by teaching writing before it’s developmentally appropriate we actually push their development a step back.
You see when it comes to early childhood development we don’t actually have to TEACH our toddlers drawing. What we need to do is EXPOSE them to play opportunities so that they naturally develop these skills INDEPENDENTLY.
We don’t need to guide their hands in order to learn to draw. However we do need to open up opportunities to play that will guide theirdevelopment.
What do pre writing shapes teach toddlers
Each time our child (spontaneously- meaning using their own hands) draws a pre writing shape, they are creating or further developing:
Pathways in their brain
Strengthening their muscles inside of their hands
Developing the understanding of how hand or soft the press down (sensory development)
Learning to coordinate micro-movements of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers
Testing out different grasps using different types of writing materials
Beginning to understand themselves as independent people who have to ability to create (ie: creativity and autonomy)
Honestly that’s just a few of the important developmental skills that toddlers learn through pre-writing shapes.
You see, although you can teach a toddler to write, it’s not going to give them a foot up in early childhood development.
Pre-writing shapes are good news for moms
For one, it does give us (and that A-type side of us) something to put on our goals list.
It also means we can take some of the stress off ourselves and feel good about simple, process art activities with our toddlers.
Toddlers learn through watching us draw pre-writing shapes, which creates an opportunity to connect with our toddlers. No uncomfortable power struggles over finishing together. Rather a time to sit next to each other and draw.
What pens or crayons should I be using for pre writing shapes
These markers are great for understanding the sensory components of writing (how hard they need to press down) and bigger movements of the shoulders, elbows and wrists.
Vibration pens are also great options because they give extra sensory feedback.
You can try pastels and do smudging, you can try these round crayons and draw by rolling them.
When it comes to art type activities for toddlers- variety is key. The shapes they are drawing are pretty simple and repetitive. Therefore, by giving different types of crayons and markers you keep them interested. As a bonus, this variety also boosts sensory development.
Does my toddler need to sit at a table when drawing?
When your toddlers are younger (under 2) it’s good to have a place to sit so that they can learn where drawing happens. This is one step to preventing all your walls being splashed with pre-writing shapes. Yes, I speak from experience. It was a very colorful experience.
It can also be helpful with the under 2’s to do drawing in a high chair with a tray- so they can’t run off with an open marker.
The high chair I always recommend is the tripp trapp by stokke. It’s a great one because it adjusts according to age. So it’s useful for babies and toddlers but also adjusts to work for school aged kids. An investment to lessen the homework battles we will be facing in a few years.
Otherwise you can let your toddler draw at a toddler sized table-like this kids table.
Once your toddler has a pretty good understanding of the rules of drawing you can mix it up. Some ideas to try out are:
Mixing it up and making pre writing shapes multisensory
Pre-writing shapes are not only for pen and paper. By making the activity multisensory you boost your toddler’s motor and sensory understanding of drawing.
There’s no prescription here. You may find that on monday your toddler asks to draw several times. But on Tuesday they aren’t interested in drawing at all.
Try offering your toddler some kind of drawing activity everyday but don’t worry if they aren’t into it.
That doesn’t mean- sit in the high chair and draw everyday. It could be in different positions or using some of the above multisensory ideas.
Toddlers are generally able to concentrate for about 3-5 minutes for every year of age. So a drawing activity might last for 3 minutes with your one year old or 15 minutes with your 3 year old.
How do you teach pre writing shapes
Three key strategies for teaching pre writing shapes:
You draw it first so that they can watch you and learn to imitate
Keep the shapes close to the developmental norm and avoid pressurizing your toddler to do it “right”.
Offer daily but with lots of variety. Variety in where they can sit, different crayons and markers and multisensory pre-writing activities.
Here are some ideas of simple pictures using pre writing shapes that you can draw with your toddler:
Snakes
Apples and bananas
Sun
Lion
Balloon
Tree
Bees
Snails
Flowers
Roads
Octopus
Pizza
My toddler hates drawing how can I teach them pre writing shapes
Naturally some of us are more artistically inclined than others. However I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to just skip offering drawing activities to toddlers.
When a toddler really hates drawing it could be because of:
Being corrected previously in drawing. If your toddler has been asked to do non-developmentally appropriate drawing tasks they may have some underlying fear of drawing. It might sound silly but anxieties around not succeeding start very early in toddlers.
TRY: Multisensory drawing with NO PRESSURE to get anything “right”. It’s best if you join in by drawing alongside your toddler.
Not understanding what to do. The imitation stage of learning pre-writing shapes is critical. If they haven’t watched someone else drawing, your toddler may not really understand what to do.
TRY: Go back to the most basic shapes (lines) and draw alongside your toddler so that they can see what to do.
Boredom. Pre-writing shapes can get a bit repetitive. If you are asking your toddler to draw lines every day while sitting in their highchair and using the same crayons- they are likely to become uninterested.
TRY:Mixing it up. Multisensory drawing activities, using different crayons and markers and drawing in different positions.
Difficulty sitting still. Toddlers aren’t famous for long attention spans.
TRY: lowering your expectations on the length of the drawing activities. Even if they only draw 2 lines and the activity lasts 2 minutes, they are still learning important skills. Aim to build on the sitting time.
Try drawing on the sidewalk with chalk or at a painting easel. And make sure that they have a properly supported chair with foot rests
I can’t do drawing activities with my toddler because they put everything in their mouth
This is natural and common. Actually that mouthing stage is really important developmentally. It should lessen by age 2. But you can try to use a pacifier so there is something already in their mouths.
When drawing with a 1 year old you can try taste safe drawing tools. Like these and this finger paint.
Most drawing supplies are also marked with a not for 0-3 years choking hazard.
This doesn’t mean that toddlers under 3’s aren’t supposed to paint and draw and color. It means we have to closely supervise them. We should be sitting with them drawing alongside them.
You can prioritise toddler drawing activities as a time to connect with your toddler. Switch off your phone, leave the cooking and cleaning and be with them for this activity.
Most young children love to draw and they need to learn to write. Despite decades of research showing a strong connection between drawing and early writing skills, some classrooms still keep these activities separate.
Ten first-year teachers were asked to make drawing a key part of their writing lessons. The goal was to explore how integrating drawing into writing lessons affects children’s learning in the first six months of school, particularly as visual and written literacy become increasingly intertwined.
The results are clear: when teachers encourage children to see drawing and writing as connected ways to create and share meaning, children’s writing becomes more complex than when they rely on writing alone. These findings are important for two reasons. First, in a time when visual literacy is crucial, ignoring the link between drawing and writing is counterproductive. Second, the results highlight the value of building on what children already know – talking and drawing – while introducing them to new skills, like writing [LINK].
This approach not only enhances their writing abilities but also helps them develop a positive attitude towards themselves as writers.
The relationship between drawing and writing
Drawing and writing share many similarities: they use the same motor skills, rely on similar thinking processes, are both ways of making and sharing meaning, and develop over time with instruction and practice. Research over the years has consistently shown a strong connection between early writing and drawing skills.
While writing involves a fixed set of symbols (like letters), drawing is more flexible and influenced by a child’s cognitive development. Creating meaning starts with more direct forms of expression, such as gestures, play, and drawing. For many children, drawing is both a fun activity and a serious way of sharing meaning with others. It helps them explore real and imaginary worlds, and it allows for rich expression and complex thinking. Drawing also provides a scaffold and support as children face the challenges of writing [LINK].
When children begin to write, they often have to encode many of the words they want to write, which can be time consuming and exhausting. Their drawings can help them remember and ‘tell’ their writing when they can’t write conventionally all the words they want to use [LINK].
Teachers can use these insights to support young writers by integrating drawing into writing lessons, making the process more engaging and less frustrating for children. In the context of Writing For Pleasure schools, we believe this is best done by inviting children to make picture and chapter books every day [LINK].
Drawing and writing share many similarities: they use the same motor skills, rely on similar thinking processes, are both ways of making and sharing meaning, and develop over time with instruction and practice. Research over the years has consistently shown a strong connection between early writing and drawing skills.
While writing involves a fixed set of symbols (like letters), drawing is more flexible and influenced by a child’s cognitive development. Creating meaning starts with more direct forms of expression, such as gestures, play, and drawing. For many children, drawing is both a fun activity and a serious way of sharing meaning with others. It helps them explore real and imaginary worlds, and it allows for rich expression and complex thinking. Drawing also provides a scaffold and support as children face the challenges of writing [LINK].
Coloring is one stress-reducing activity that kids of all ages can enjoy, yet it’s so basic and commonplace that it’s often overlooked. No special skills or talent are needed for coloring, which is why anyone can enjoy it and feel successful. Coloring requires minimal supplies and is easily portable. It’s a simple hobby that kids can take with them anywhere! Coloring offers a chance to briefly unplug from our technology-filled lives.
Coloring and doodling can be great for our health and happiness, too. And the best part is that you don’t have to be remotely good at it to reap the benefits.
Because the activity of coloring creates such focused attention, it allows kids to become totally immersed in the present moment, rather than rehearsing negative events of the past or worrying about things in the future. It develops patience and promotes mindfulness…. two qualities we can all use more of!
In addition to its stress-reducing value, coloring offers physical benefits like improved eye/hand coordination, dexterity, and fine motor skills…. all while building strength in the hand, fingers, and wrist. Art skills will flourish with a growing awareness of color, patterns, lines and circles etc.
I am all in favor of coloring in addition to having plenty of opportunities for artistic expression.
Provide images with larger borders and outlines
When children are first starting out, give them color sheets with large shapes and borders. Until they develop more precise coloring skills, trying to stay within small shapes and borders can cause more frustration.
Make the outlines stand out
Another great tip for teaching children to color inside the lines is to find a way to emphasize the borders. Use a marker to trace the outlines and make them darker, or trace the outlines with glue to make them more 3-dimensional borders.
Color with them
If your child hasn’t shown much interest in coloring, show them that coloring can be fun. Get down there and color with them, make it a fun activity that you can do together.
Coloring can pull you out of a funk.
Coloring sparks nostalgia. Open up a new box of crayons and breathe in. Smells like childhood…and research shows taking a walk (or a doodle?) down memory lane is good for you. Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety and make you feel more likely to say you feel loved. In 2014, one million coloring books for adults were sold. In 2015, 12 million sold…and it’s not just because we’re so much better at staying inside the lines than we were when we were kids.
Coloring inside the lines is particularly beneficial if you’re looking to relax. A study of undergraduate students randomly assigned to either color in a pre-drawn design or to color free-form on a blank sheet of paper found that coloring in a pre-dawn plaid pattern was linked to a significant reduction in depression and tension. Prefer to do your own thing? You’ll still benefit—pattern coloring and free-form coloring alike was linked to a reduction in negative mood.
Stirring interest in children to learn is the first step to success in teaching any subject. The best way to introduce drawings to children is by using simple lines, shapes and patterns. It is because kids are made to learn and recognize lines, shapes and geometrical patterns like circle, square, etc. in their early childhood education and by creating pictures out of them we are encouraging kids to expand their creativity. This method of teaching drawing pictures is not new to us as we ourselves have been involved in doodling in our childhood as well as there are many instructions online on how to teach kids to draw pictures. Especially targeted at children, this approach of drawing teaches kids how to draw animals, birds and even human emotions in the most efficient way possible.
Coloring develops toddler drawing and handwriting by strengthening hand muscles, enhancing fine motor control, and improving hand-eye coordination. It teaches proper pencil grasp, increases endurance for writing tasks, and builds the patience and precision needed to stay within lines.
Key Reasons Coloring Develops Handwriting:
Fine Motor Skill Development: Manipulating crayons or markers strengthens small muscles in the hand and fingers necessary for holding a pencil correctly.
Hand-Eye Coordination: Coloring helps children align their visual perception with physical movements, crucial for writing letters.
Grip and Control: It promotes the refinement of the pincer grasp and helps toddlers learn to control the pressure they apply, which leads to better control of writing tools.
Pre-writing Skills: Coloring within lines teaches spatial awareness and precision, preparing them to form letters.
Focus and Endurance: Regular coloring increases a child's attention span and builds the physical endurance required for longer writing tasks.
By practicing these skills early through drawing and coloring, toddlers develop the dexterity and confidence needed to make writing easier and more natural later on.
HOW TO DRAW EASY ANIMALS
Step by step tutorials can be fun and easy to use but it’s hard to find really simple ones. Here are some from Hellokids.com that are based on simple lines and shapes. If they are struggling with straight lines use something with a straight edge (like a small ruler) as a guide. Please be aware that if someone is really struggling with drawing, coloring or doodling that they may need a visit to a developmental Ophthalmologist .
You can search the web for examples of tracing, completing a drawing, dot to dots and coloring pages to improve drawing and writing. But the best page for a variety of them is https://www.myteachingstation.com/worksheets/drawing
Here are a few FREE exercises from there. Click on worksheet thumbnails and/or titles for links
HINT: You can laminate these or put them in clear page protectors and use dry erase markers if you wish to use them over and over. I put them in three ring binders and let Hope do 3 a day. She enjoyed the color and could easily erase the marks if they didn’t come out to her liking. She actually used color families when doing this type of work. ie. Warm colors vs cool colors.
Practice pre-writing, fine motor skills and identifying rectangle shapes with this printable tracing shapes worksheet. Your child will need to find the rectangle shapes in the picture...
Stirring interest in children to learn is the first step to success in teaching any subject. The best way to introduce drawings to children is by using simple lines, shapes and patterns. It is because kids are made to learn and recognize lines, shapes and geometrical patterns like circle, square, etc. in their early childhood education and by creating pictures out of them we are encouraging kids to expand their creativity. This method of teaching drawing pictures is not new to us as we ourselves have been involved in doodling in our childhood as well as there are many instructions online on how to teach kids to draw pictures. Especially targeted at children, this approach of drawing teaches kids how to draw animals, birds and even human emotions in the most efficient way possible.
Once your child has begun to make marks on a page independently or purposefully draw images, she has mastered symbolic thinking. This important milestone in thinking skills means that your child understands that lines on paper can be a symbol of something else, like a house, a cat, or a person. At this stage, your child also begins to understand the difference between pictures and writing. So you may see him draw a picture and then scribble some “words” underneath to describe what he has drawn or to tell a story. When your child is able to share his story with you, he will be motivated to “author” more and more work as he grows. Soon you will see your child clearly planning prior to drawing what he will create. You will also see more detail in the pictures, more control in the way your child handles the crayon or marker, and the use of more colors. What else to be on the lookout for? Children’s first pictures often build off circles. So, you may see a sun—an irregular circle, with lots of stick “rays” shooting out—or a person (usually a circle with roughly recognizable human features).
Coloring is so good for developing the fine motor skills for drawing and doodling.
Coloring develops toddler handwriting by strengthening hand muscles, enhancing fine motor control, and improving hand-eye coordination. It teaches proper pencil grasp, increases endurance for writing tasks, and builds the patience and precision needed to stay within lines.
Key Reasons Coloring Develops Handwriting:
Fine Motor Skill Development: Manipulating crayons or markers strengthens small muscles in the hand and fingers necessary for holding a pencil correctly.
Hand-Eye Coordination: Coloring helps children align their visual perception with physical movements, crucial for writing letters.
Grip and Control: It promotes the refinement of the pincer grasp and helps toddlers learn to control the pressure they apply, which leads to better control of writing tools.
Pre-writing Skills: Coloring within lines teaches spatial awareness and precision, preparing them to form letters.
Focus and Endurance: Regular coloring increases a child's attention span and builds the physical endurance required for longer writing tasks.
By practicing these skills early through drawing and coloring, toddlers develop the dexterity and confidence needed to make writing easier and more natural later on.
This collection of easy step by step drawings for kids contains dozens of printable drawing worksheets for kids that break down drawing a variety of subjects down into a single simple step at a time.
Easy drawing printables for kids….
All of the step by step drawing guides listed here are available as free drawing worksheets for you to print and use in your home or classroom. There’s a number of different themes and subjects but one thing stays constant. Every one of these easy drawings for kids breaks down a complex subject into a series of simple lines and shapes.
Step by step drawing guides like these are a great way to teach your young artists how to break down complex images into a series of simple lines and shapes!
Dog drawing worksheets….
Three dog drawing worksheets for kids feature different types of dogs with different body types. After drawing these dogs your kiddos will easily be able to mix and match different features to draw their very own dog.
Five different dinosaurs are explored in this dinosaur drawing printable series for kids! Dinosaurs are always a popular subject with young people and a great way to entice a reluctant drawer!
Follow along with easy step by step drawing instructions for eight different zoo animals. Drawing guides will teach your students to draw lions, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and more!
Do you love these easy drawings for kids? Then SHARE them!
A Long List of Mark Making Activities
This is a very long list of different types of EYFS mark making activities for children. I’ve sorted them into different categories. Some activities may fit into more than one category.
Prints & Rubbings
Alternatives to Pens and Paint Brushes (different types of utensils)
Edible Materials
Non-Edible Materials
Dried Materials
‘Invisible’
Impression
Transient / Loose Parts
Upright / Vertical
Floor Activities
Water Based
Alternative Surfaces to Paper
Prints and Rubbings
The following are different forms of printmaking that can be used for making marks and drawings to represent ideas. As these are primarily prints, the marks are made by dipping an object into paint or ink and then pressing it onto paper.
Classic stamps or stamp pens (This can be done in playdough as well as paper).
Stencils
Potato prints
Fruit prints (fruit like apple or lemon cut in half and dipped in paint)
Utensil prints (mashed potato press, whisks- place them in paint and print or paint with them)
Sponge prints (sponges can be used to print or paint)
Car/truck tracks (rolling car tracks through paint or on playdough)
Wooden spools (rolled in paint)
Toy animal footprints (Children can dip toy animal feet in paint and print them on paper or press animal feet into playdoughto make footprints.)
Bubble wrap prints
Footprints or handprints or fingerprints (Children can use their fingers, hands or feet to paint and print with paint.)
Rubbings- e.g. bark rubbing, leaf rubbing (Children can place it under the paper and rub the long side of a crayon over it.)
Styrofoam prints (Draw a pattern or picture into the foam with a stick or pencil to make an impression i.e. a ‘stamp’, cover it with paint and then press it on paper.)
Finger paint print (Children can finger paint a picture on a tray, then place a piece of paper on top and gently rub it so that it picks up some of the paint onto the paper.)
Symmetry print (Children can splatter paint on half of a piece of paper, then fold in half, rub it, so the paint goes on both sides, and then open it up again to make a symmetrical picture e.g. butterfly.)
Alternatives to Basic Brushes and Pens
The following can be used as alternatives to standard paint brushes, pens, and pencils, to make drawing and mark making more exciting.
Grass, leaf, flower or plant ‘paintbrushes’
Sponge brush
Spreaders or spatulas
Sticks and twigs
Feathers
Bells attached to brushes
Dishwashing or scrub brushes
Toothbrushes
String (it can be dipped in paint and dragged around)
Big dot pens / bingo dabbers
Spray bottles
Finger painting
Squeegee (to spread paint)
Pom poms on pegs
Rubber band splat – (Using a baking tin, place a piece of paper to cover the bottom, wrap rubber bands around the tin, place paint on them, then pull the rubber bands & let go to cause them to splat on the paper).
Children can paint on oobleck (corn starch & water) for an interesting and transient surface.
Squirt bottle painting (paint can be placed in squirt bottles or spray bottles to spray & squirt out paint)
Jumbo chalk (sidewalk chalk)
Double pens or double paintbrushes (Held together with rubber bands)
Pens on wheels (Pens can be attached to the back of a toy car using a rubber band, so the car will make marks behind it as children play with it.)
Glue spreaders
Splatter/drip painting (dripping and splatting paint like Jackson Pollock)
These materials can all be used to mark make on a tray or tuff spot as an alternative to paint. They are transient (not permanent) so are great for children who get worried about making mistakes. They also are good for sensory play. For more details on these activities, please click here.
Chocolate sauce / Hershey sauce mark making
Ketchup mark making activity
Gloopy mark making activity- cornflower & oil
Ready Brek ‘paint’ / cream of wheat (food colouring optional)
Boba (Tapioca Pearl) and corn starch (food colouring optional)
Yoghurt (food colouring optional)
Non-Edible Finger Mark Making
These materials (alternatives to paint) can all be used to mark made on a tray or tuff spot. These are also transient ways for children to experiment and try to make marks.
Glue or glitter glue on tray or tuff spot
Mud or dirt on a tuff spot
Mud paint (dirt, water, food colouring)
Shaving foamon tuff spot or windows (alternative options- frozen shaving foam, with glitter, with essential oils, with sequins, etc.)
Pop Rocks/popping candy paint (Just add pop rocks to paint to make popping paint)
Dried Materials for Making Marks
These materials can all be used to mark make on a tray or tuff spot. These are also transient ways for children to make marks. They provide a different type of sensory experience than the previous categories and might be more appealing to children who don’t like sticky sensations or may be resistant to getting their hands dirty.
Salt, including colourful and smelly
Oats
Rice, including colourful
Lentils
Dirt
Glitter
Sand (glitter optional)
Drawing in the dirt with sticks
Invisible Writing and Mark Making
Write with the ‘juice’ of a dandelion stem on paper (It will slowly turn the paper brown.)
Lemon juice writing – write with lemon juice on paper, then let it dry. It can then be held up to the heat of a lightbulb to turn it brown, or painted over with turmeric dissolved in rubbing alcohol (see Turmeric pH Indicator Experiment post).
Draw on paper with white crayon or wax and then paint over it with water colours to reveal the drawing.
Impression Mark Making Activities
These activities can be done in playdough, clay, salt-dough, etc. to make marks and drawings. Marks are made by pressing or carving into the dough or clay.
Drawing in the doughwith pencils/sticks/pottery sticks
Pressing objects in playdough, salt dough or clay– ex. bottle tops, stamps, toys (e.g. bugs/minibeasts, car wheels) , natural objects (e.g. shells, pine cones), Numicon.
Carving or scratching into pumpkins
Carving/ scratching into wax
Carving/scratching into wood
Transient / Mark Making with Loose Parts
These objects can be moved around and used to create pictures or representations.
Beads & necklaces
Flat glass beads
Sticks
Pieces of paper/shapes
Pebbles
Natural objects- Flowers, conkers, acorns, pinecones, etc.
Playdough or clay
Magnetic letters, numbers, or other objects
Upright / Vertical Activities
These EYFS mark making activities are particularly good for getting children to make large movements and marks while they are standing up.
Shaving foam painting on windows or mirror (with paintbrushes or fingers)
Window “washing” with brushes & bubbles & food colouring
Painting on an easel
Painting on large poster paper on a wall
Painting or drawing on a wall, fence, tree trunk, or upright tuff spot
Painting with a spray bottle, squeeze bottle, pipette, or syringe to spray paint onto windows, walls, etc.
Writing with chalk on a chalkboard or chalkboard painted wall
Floor Mark Making Activities
These mark making activities can be another excellent opportunity for children to do large movements and drawings.
Rangoli Designs (using sand, flowers, rice, etc.)
Large sheets of paper on the floor to colour on with pens or paints
Sidewalk chalk & water painting (see water-based activities below)
These activities primarily rely on water to make marks and images. They disappear fairly quickly, so children worried about making mistakes tend to find this reassuring.
Lightbox (can be drawn on with whiteboard pens, or use objects, particularly translucent ones)
Cloth (e.g. puffy paint or permanent markers on t-shirts)
Coloured paper – painted on with baby oil to make it translucent in parts (then can be hung in the window to see the result)
Whiteboards
Paper towel drawn or dripped on with food colouring from pipettes
Painting eggs
Painting with clay or paints on cliffs or large rocks/boulders
Tray covered in bicarbonate of soda – then use coloured vinegar in droppers to drip over
Conclusions – EYFS Mark Making Ideas & Activities that Benefit Children
I hope that you found these EYFS mark making ideas and activities helpful and that your children enjoy them! You may also want to see my posts Pre-writing Activitiesor Outdoor Mark Making Ideas for additional ways to help children learn to write. Once children are ready to write, you may want to see my post on teaching children to write sentences.
Even though I have never considered myself as good at drawing anything, I have always loved doodling. Producing original artwork is both rewarding and stimulating because we can be like children and add our own original flair. What’s more, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, doodlers find it easier to recall dull information (even 29 percent more) than non-doodlers, because the latter are more likely to daydream. I remember that as a student, I would find doodling on a page of my notebook. I would doodle without it being a conscious decision during classes. I just loved to doodle.
If you’re looking for a simple creative outlet without a steep learning curve, start doodling for five minutes a day. Doodling is fun and can be very satisfying.
Creativity is proven to boost relaxation, happiness and even problem-solving skills. However, few of us have a creative outlet that we engage in consistently. Doodling is the answer to this dilemma. It can be done anywhere and at any time, and all you need is a piece of paper and a pen. If you’re looking for a simple creative outlet without a steep learning curve, start doodling for five minutes a day. Doodling is fun and can be very satisfying.
Doodling during a meeting? Tell your boss you’re not distracted—the opposite, in fact. One 2009 study found that people who doodled while listening to a phone message performed 29 percent better on a surprise memory test than those who didn’t doodle. Researchers think it’s because doodling keeps us engaged…and stops our minds from wandering.
Creating changes your brain for the better and improves STEM skills.
Students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics may want to add an art class to their course loads. Creative endeavors are exercises in problem-solving, researchers say—and incorporating art into math and science can help students become more creative problem solvers. “When an artist is painting, he is trying to solve a problem—how to express what is being felt. He experiments with colors, technique and images the same way a scientist or engineer experiments with energy and signals,” he said. “There is more than one way information can be taught just like there is more than one way that a problem can be solved.”
Doodling Can Help Process Emotions.
Emerging studies show that art expression may help individuals reconnect thinking and feeling. While journaling is a great way to get in touch with your thoughts and feelings, you can get even better results if you add doodles to your journal entries. After all, doodles can help you to recognize and express your emotions.
Doodling Alleviates Stress.
In my post on ways to play more and have more fun as adults, I encourage you to get a coloring book for adults. But coloring books aren’t just for fun. The stress-busting benefits of coloring books have been proven to calm the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls our fight or flight response. You can then use a different color to fill in the blank spaces created by the lines.
The repetitive motion of moving the pen across the page making the same shape over and over again is relaxing. In addition, a lot of stress comes from the fear of making a mistake, and, when you’re just drawing a continuous line and shading in wherever the mood strikes you, there are no mistakes.
However, doodling might be even better than coloring books for getting stress under control because of its simplicity.
In the book Chilling Out: The Psychology of Relaxation, psychologist Christine Selby recommends drawing a continuous line across the page that curves and crosses itself many times as a technique to help you unwind.
These doodles are some of Hope’s doodling from her early elementary days.
TYPES OF DOODLING RESOURCES
My favorite site for doodling is Sparkletart.com They claim that there five main styles or types of doodle based art are:
Zentangle ®
Zendoodling
Stendoodling
Mandalas and
Doodle Art
Each style or type has its own specific characteristics and forms and all are equally beautiful! Let's take a look at each one and see what they are all about and what makes them unique.
Zentangle
Zentangle.com describes Zentangle as "an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. With the Zentangle method, anyone can create beautiful images from repetitive patterns, and even though it is a specified series of steps, it results in a creative expression that transcends its own rules.
Zentangles are based on:
Focus - each stroke is created with intent (even if the final result is a mystery)
No Eraser - work your mistakes into your design
Foundations (or limits) from the use of 'strings'
Abstract - no up or down, non-representative - ie: it shouldn't look like 'something'
Ceremony - sort of like a Japanese Tea ceremony for the mind!
Most zentangles are created on small 3.5" square paper tiles and are made up of a foundation of 'strings' which are used to define areas which are then filled with 'Tangles' (single repetitive patterns). Tangles often have specific names and ways of drawing each pattern, in fact, there are books filled with tangle patterns! The act of creating a Zentangle is called 'tangling' and is a form of meditative art, where the artist focuses on creating each single line rather than a particular image. Zentangles are constructed in black and white, should not look like 'something' and are absolutely NOT a mindless drawing activity, but rather created with purpose and intent. If your Zentangle looks like something, it's no longer a Zentangle, but rather Zentangle Inspired Art (Z.I.A.) or a Zendoodle.
These are some of the Zentangles I have created, as you can see they don't look like a particular 'thing', there is no up or down, they are black and white with some shading, they use named tangle patterns and most importantly they were created mindfully, with intention and focus on the process.
Zendoodling has its roots in Zentangling and shares many similar qualities - focus, design, repetitive tangle patterns BUT it can be in colour, on any size paper, a specific shape (eg: word, letter, animal) and may have a top and bottom. Think of a Zendoodle or Zentangle Inspired Art (Z.I.A.) as using the same or similar tangle patterns to create the image, but with Zendoodling you could draw a leaf outline and then fill it with tangle patterns, you could add tangles to a portrait or even on a 3D object. Zendoodling is very much like Zentangling - with the same repeating and meditative patterns but with no restrictions on shape, size or colour.
This is one of my favourite Zendoodles. It's part of an art journal page - in fact, it creates the background, is meant to look like something (which is what makes it a Zendoodle rather than a Zentangle) and it certainly was created in a meditative state, filling all the little components I had drawn took hours. If you'd like to see how I incorporated Zendoodling into my art journal page you can have a look here.
Want To Know More? You may enjoy these Books:
Stendoodling
Stendoodling uses stencils to create an image outline, patterns within the design and even the individual doodle patterns!
To create a Stendoodle:
Use a stencil or mask to create a shape (eg: a feather),
Then use another stencil to create sections within that shape (eg: sun rays) and finally,
Use smaller stencils (and a fine marker) to create patterns within each section.
This awesome art form is the creation of Michael Trent, a Brazilian artist - see a start-to-finish example and read more about it here. I love Stendoodling, as anyone can do this, you don't have to be able to 'draw' anything, or even doodle, you just need to be able to trace around a pattern or shape!
For crafters who already own stencils or masks, looking for a completely low-stress activity - but not thrilled by Adult Coloring books then this may just be perfect for you!
This is still my favourite Stendoodled project - I combined Stendoodles with free-hand doodle art to create this awesome doodled masked lady
Mandalas
The word Mandala (pronounced mon- dah- lah) is a Sanskrit word that means "circle" and is a very old custom practised by many cultures and religions (Buddhists, Hindus, Native Americans, Christians etc). Traditionally used in meditation or as a spiritual tool to represent connectedness to the universe, mandalas are now often used to promote mindfulness and relaxation as the act of creating a mandala can be calming and help to focus the mind.
Though most often circles, or circles within squares, Mandalas can be any shape, but MUST be an integrated structure organised around a unifying centre. Mandalas contain repetitive geometric patterns, working from a central point outwards, they are most often coloured and can be very simple or hugely intricate.
Mandalas are created with a purpose in mind eg: wholeness, connection, intentions, the creator should focus on their purpose as they draw. The creator may feel like using certain words, shapes or patterns while drawing, just let it flow. The mandala is finished when you feel it is complete, or when you have lost focus.
This is a list of colours and their symbolic meanings to assist in making mandala colouring choices, or you may like to choose colours randomly that appeal to you and then see what they may mean. Perhaps you are being drawn to colours with a particular meaning or message.
RED
strength, high energy and passion
PINK
love, intuition and the feminine
ORANGE
creativity, transformation, self-awareness and intuition
YELLOW
learning, wisdom, laughter and happiness
GREEN
physical healing, psychic ability, love of nature and caring
BLUE
emotional healing, inner peace and meditation
PURPLE
all things spiritual
WHITE
spiritual focus
BLACK
mystery, deep thinking and individuality
Don't be put off by all the intricate and beautifully coloured mandalas you may see online, drawing these is about relaxing and you don't HAVE to show it to anyone if you don't want to!
YOUR mandala may be as simple as mine below. I started off drawing the mandala itself in pencil, added colour and then went back over my design in black permanent ink. A few shadows and it was all finished. I picked colours and designs I liked and just enjoyed doodling this. According to the colour chart above the colours I chose for this represent: love, intuition, the spiritual and physical and emotional healing. Considering the words I'd chosen to incorporate into the mandala, I'd say my colour choices matched beautifully!
I say there are two more types of doodling that they didn’t have suggesting books for: Hand Drawn Original doodles Doodle prompts
How to Doodle on you own
I love doodling and I'd like to share my "How to Doodle" tips with you, so that you can love it as much as I do. The First rule of Doodling is that there are no rules. That is the wonderful part of Doodling. You can do anything. You don't even need to know your end result. You just need the confidence and motivation to start. Over the years I learned a few simple tricks that can help you if you get stuck or have a lack of creative imagination. I have them separated into 4 categories - Preparation, Doodle Time, Finishing Up and Adding Color.
Preparation
Some people might say you need a special workplace, an organized desk with all the right tools and no distractions. If you work better this way, by all means go right ahead. However, considering the nature of the doodle, I believe the best doodles come from a more relaxed atmosphere. There is no law against watching TV while you doodle. Personally, If I'm concentrating too hard, I mess up--there is too much pressure.
I would strongly suggest putting on the Daydream and relax CD from Don Campbell’s Mozart for children series.
Materials
1. A pencil. Any will do as long as it's nice and sharp. 2. Two Black sharpies. A Fine Tip and an Extra Fine Tip. I like to use both in a drawing to add texture. There are also some Scrapbooking pens out there that are really nice to use. 3. Paper (unless you're using a more creative medium). Regular white copy paper is fine for those more relaxing/habit producing doodles. For my big projects, I like to use a big sheet of drawing paper that you can buy from any art supply store. 4. Misc. Materials. Anything that might assist in your doodling--Ruler, eraser, protractor, a glass (for those "perfect circles"). You'll be amazed at how many around-the-house items can help with your drawing.
Doodle Time
How to doodle? Just begin! Don't think about your end product. Just let the Doodle create itself. Now we can all get stuck--artist block if you will. However, you can always fall back on your "How to Doodle" Basics. I like to call them the Doodling Triad.
The swirl is one of the basic designs that I constantly fall back on. You can never go wrong with a good swirl especially if you mix it up a little. Have them go opposite ways, change the thickness, make patterns. It's up to you to decide how you use this mark.
Now the line may seem a little obvious. But it is one of the easiest marks to use when it comes to doodling. You can create nice checkerboards or rays for the sun. With a little curve added you turn a line into flower vines or ocean waves. Don't be scared to use something this simple.
The Last of the Doodling Triad is Shape. Shapes are a doodler's best friend. There's dozens of different shapes out there that can add to your drawing. If you're afraid of drawing realistic objects, use shapes. Presto--you have a modern art piece. Shapes are wonderful to use. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the Shape. Put all your basics together and you can have a pretty cool looking doodle.
Finishing Up
When you feel you're done, WALK AWAY!! Don't look back. Put the cap on your marker and leave the room. Give yourself at least 30 minutes before looking at it again. I can't tell you how many art projects I messed up because I didn't walk away when I should have. I think this is really good advice for anytime you are creating art. If you ever feel stuck or frustrated at what's going on, you can always benefit from some fresh eyes.
Any kind of drawing paper. (size 8′ x 10′ or larger).
Markers, Pencils, Pencil Crayons
What You Do:
Begin in one spot on the paper and start drawing doodles. Create as many doodles as you like… the only rule is that no doodles should overlap or interfere with any other doodles.
If you wish, you can keep the doodles the same. In other words, draw only geometric shapes (i.e. squares, triangles, circles etc.) or draw only organic shapes (squiggly “natural” shapes).
When you have filled your paper with doodles, begin coloring in.
You may use solid colour, lines, cross hatching, dots, dashes… whatever you like.
