From
Scribblesto
Symbols
84-ye8r-old Michele draws a picture, a wide grin spreads How children
across lier face. She looks up from the tahle, her eyes
learn to draw
sparkling, and says, "Look, Dad, my lines look like
mountains!" As Michele moves her crayon way up and write—
on the page and then way down, creating a zigzag and what their
panern, she clearly delights in exploring the possi- pictures and
bilities of the lines she's forming.
stories tell you
Art is a language. It's a way that people—especially children—express ideas and feelings. In by Ellen Booth Church
many ways, art is the "first language" of the beginning reader and writer. Children use their inner photographs by
experiences to create art. Through their initial Frank Heckers
scribbles and imaginative drawings, they create
their own magical worlds, which help them make
sense of the real world around them. What does a tree look
like? How can I show what I see?
Children usually Ix'gin to draw and paint before they learn to
write. Their piaures are like words for them and mark an essential step on the road to literacy. They use what might look like
mere scribbles, lines, and blobs to represent what they see.
Amazingly, children can read these markings. You may have experienced your child "reading" her drawing to you, and then
going to the next person and reading it to them in the same way!
Unfortunately, we are finding that children at younger and
APRIL/MAY 20DS SCHOLASTIC PARENT a CHILD
41
younger ages are heing asked to
trace letters repeatedly and make
them ''fit" within lines. Yet scribbling is a wonderfully heartfelt expression of thoughts, images, and
emotions. Allowing children plent)'
of time to play with the lines,
shapes, and squiggles of scribbling
encourages interest in writing and
art. Best of all, children who engage
in plenty of scribbling are developing fine motor skills, eye-hand
coordination, and the creative confidence that will be so needed in
their later schooling.
Over time, chiidren learn to connect what they create to what the
shapes and figures represent, which
leads to the realization that symbols
stand in for other things. Understanding symbolic representation
helps children grasp that letters and
nil in bers signify something important. Both art and writing involve
making symbols.
When it comes to children's art
and writing, nothing rings truer
rhan the expression "It's the
prtKess, not the product." Children
Iearn how to think and solve problems from the free exploration of
art materials and language. Giving
your child time to express herself
through art and writing and talking
about artistic expression will help
her develop communication skills
and a deeper understanding of her
inner and outer worlds.
Put Feelings into Art
If you've ever asked your child how
she feeis, the answer is often simple:
She'll say "good" or "bad." While
most children have a huge vocabulary to describe their experiences,
they often don't have the words to
describe their feelings. Art is the
perfect outlet for your child's emotions. When creative expression is
not planned or directed into a particular projea, children can express
rheir feelings through a variety of
isplaying your child's
artwork at home [here
with clothespins and
wire) demonstrates your
pride and admiration.
media. A lump of clay or a brush
and paper allows children to express joy and happiness, and work
through sadness, feat; or anger with
artistic movements. Pounding the
clay or making sweeping strokes
with a paintbrush can offer a muchneeded release for a child who is
having a hard day.
Sometimes color is the significant part of your child's emotional
experiment with art. Children may
choose a particular color to express
an emotion—perhaps bright colors
to express happiness and dark,
murky colors to express confusion
or sadness. How the colors are put
on the page is usually even more
telling. Watch your child's brush or
crayon strokes. You can quickly
recognize the difference between a
gentle, peaceful movement and an
angry thrusting motion.
It's important not to jump to
conclusions, though. Just because
your child uses lots of black doesn't
necessarily mean she is angry or depressed. She may just like black for
its opaque quality, the way it covers
everything else. After one preschooler had been using only black
for weeks, her teacher gently asked
about it; "i noticed you are using a
lot of black in your pictures. What
do you like about the color?" The
child answered, "It's the color of
my new kitten! She's shiny and
makes me happy."
Help your child explore her
emotions more deeply by varying
the type and color of the paints and
tools you provide, as well as the
paper and objects to paint on
(boxes, rocks, fabric, for example).
Remember that emotions also have
texture. Supply small pieces of differently textured materials for her
to use. Mix a tiny bit of white glue
into the paint so that your child can
stick the bits right onto her paintings for a collage effect.
You can further expand your
child's artistic and emotional
growth by introducing "emotional"
vocabulary words. Use a variety of
words to describe how you feel. For
example, instead of saying you are
happy, say you are glad, joyful, or
merry. Instead of saying you had a
bad day, say you are frustrated or
weary. Children pick up words easily in context and will very quickly
start using them appropriately. Naturally, you can use these same
words when talking with your child
about her art.
Seeing with
an Artist's Eye
Art is perspective—seeing things a
certain way. Children are very good
at looking at the world in different
and unusual ways. In fact, their art
and writing are always a unique reflection, perfectly their own, which
makes them natural artists! And
that's something you can encourage by pointing out interesting
ways of seeing things. (See "Art Is
Seeing ..." on the next page.)
Inviting children to discuss their
work strengthens this connection
between pictures and words. Fouryear-old Alyssa was fascinated by a
rainbow she saw in a puddle. After
she made a rainbow at home with
her watercolors, her mom asked,
"What do you think makes rainbows?" Alyssa said, "Rainbows are
in puddles because they fell out of
the sky with the rain."
Introducing children to the work
of great artists is one of the best
ways to get them more interested in
artistic expression—and vision.
(Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Henri
Matisse, Jackson Pollack, and Joan
Miro are all good starting places.!
Your child may be surprised to see
that many valued works of art are
similar to her own beginning drawings. Explain that artists have a
style. As she comes to realize that
artists don't always draw or paint
recognizable things, she'll feel less pressure
to draw something that looks perfect.
When you invite your child to look at
the work with an artist's eye, you open
the door for her to understand what the
artist is expressing. Talking about what
another artist might be thinking, feeling,
and trying to say sets the stage for her to
talk about her own work.
Let kids find
theirown style.
As you show your child a work of
modem art, invite her to suggest a title for
it—another way to connect art and language. Emphasize that there is no right
answer. For example, 5-year-old Omari
titled Mondrian's Broadway BoogieWoogie "Dancing Lines." and his friend
Marcy was surprised to learn that a Joan
Miro painting was titled People and Dog
in Sun. To her, it looked like "Kids Playing on the Swings."
How to Talk to Your Child
About Her Work
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with art in the early years is the wide
difference m children's artistic abilities. It
is not unusual for some children in the
same age group to be scribbling while
others are creating true representational
drawings that begin to look like people,
plants, and things.
When talking to your child about her
artwork, be sensitive and open. Consider
these points:
Tnf to avoid general compliments ("That's
pretty!"); judgments ('i really like what
you painted!"); corrections ("Nice picture, but remember that dogs have four
legs."); and direct questions ("What did
vou draw?").
Art Is Seeing...
Shapes in the clouds
Texture throughtlie trees
Lines on the buildings
Forms in the dark
Beauty in everyday things
Don't respondrightaway. By first smiling
and nodding when your child shows you
her work, you give her the chance to say
what she wants to say about it.
Simply say "Thank you!' The power of
those two little words is amazing, and
says so much: Thank you for making this
picture, for showing me, for working so
hard on it. There is no judgment, just a
sincere gratitude for the artistic effort.
Describe what you see. Say, "You used
many colors and some of them have
mixed together to make new ones!" Or
say, "I notice you made lines across the
bottom of the page." This opens the door
for your child to tell you something more
about the elements you are describing.
Encouraging
Self-Expression
Helping your child make the conneCTion
between art and writing starts with
time—and space—to experiment. Even if
space is tight in your home, try to set
aside a corner or table for your child's
artistic endeavors. Provide plenty of tools
and materials, such as washable paints,
crayons, glue sticks, child-safe scissors,
and paper. (See the story "An Center," on
page 68, for more ideas.)
Here are some easy activities that will
inspire your young artist:
Introduce the elements of art. Use "art
words" to teach her about the basics of
art: color (names of shades, light and
dark); shape (circle, square, triangle); texture {bumpy, smooth, fuzzy, lumpy); line
(long, short, straight, curvy, thick, thin,
spiral, slanted); and space (front, back,
high, low, near, far).
Use the internet to explore great art. You
can access images online by going to
google.com, clicking on Images, and typing in tbe artist's name. You'll quickly get
Symbols soon
emerge from
5cribbie5.
Use an old or new picture frame (posterstyle Plexiglas frames work well). Once a
month (or week!), ask your child to
choose a piece she wants to celebrate.
You can also string a clothesline across a
wall and hang her work witb clothespins.
Use a scanner to scan your child's art and
create cards for friends and relatives.
Create a portfolio. In addition to drawings, save your child's accompanying
words and dictation. Periodically, review
the portfolio so she can see how she has
grown. Involve your child in selecting the
work to save. Look for magnetic photo
albums to hold the art.
When young children experiment
with art, in any form, tbeir creative expression, language, and communication
skills blossom. Art is an outlet for emotions and a fertile ground for new ideas
to take form and flight. Swirls of color,
joyous or brooding; forgiving lumps of
clay to be molded and pounded; or any
material that can be shaped by imagination is a refuge.
some mini snapshots of the artist's work. "message" is revealed when it is held up
Simply click on the small version to en- to the heat of a lamp or in the sun!
Dispiay and share your child's art. As a Ellvn Booth Church is an earty childhood consuttani
large and then print it.
author Some of the activities in this story have
special
way to honor your child's work, and
Put a spin on paint-blot art. Ask your
been excerpted from her new book, 25 Literacychild to pick up thin tempera paint with frame it and hang it in the living room. Building Art Activities (Scholastic).
an eyedropper and drip it onto paper. Repeat with another color. Place plastic
wrap over her paper and invite her to
press it gently. The paints will blend and
swirl into interesting images that keep
AGE
WHAT KIDS 00
STAGE
changing as your child moves her fingers
• Take great pleasure in moving a crayon over paper
over the plastic wrap. Remove the plastic
• Become interested in the page when they notice
wrap and set the painting aside to dry.
Random
to
their movements result in drawings
Scribbling
Make a book of dreams and wishes. Art
•
By age 2, may start to label their scribbles
and writing intersect in this handmade
project. What does your child usually
• Many 3s manipulate materials with a more purdream about? What does she wish for?
poseful action, as in "controlled scribbling"
Whenever your child remembers a
Pre
symbol
ism
•
By
age 4, children may attempt to represent the
to
dream, she can add drawings and words
human form with simple figures—mostly heads
to tell the story of her dream or wish. Try
with legs and arms
using lots of differently textured papers.
Punch holes on the sides of the pages and
• Begin creating simple representational drawings
store them in a binder. Glue a photo of
[self-portraits, pets, and family] with more details
your child on the cover.
Symboiism
• Have more control over the lines they draw
to
Make Invisible ink! Kids will love this
• May use the letters of their name [or other letters
science-inspired trick. With a paintbrush,
they know) repeatedly to write a message
your child can draw or write with lemon
juice or white vinegar on white paper. The
The Process of Learning to Draw and Write
1
2
3
4
5
6