I recently checked out a book from the library titled "Understanding Children's Drawings" by Cathy A. Malchiodi. Overall I found it interesting, but I was looking for something specific and didn't find it. I did find a great summary of the stages of children's drawings. Malchiodi has researched a number of Psychologists' studies which she references and if you are interested you may enjoy reading her book for more information. I'm sharing a summary of these stages with you because I think it is important to know that children's drawing and learning are intertwined and that these stages are important and healthy.
I was once sitting a classroom with a few mothers and their toddlers. One boy walked up to the chalkboard and began to scribble. His mom scolded him for scribbling and tried to teach him to draw a straight line and said to the other mothers "It would be my child who only scribbles" My response was, "He's only 2. He's supposed to scribble."
Just like a baby will babble and practice making sounds before he/she talks the baby needs to scribble. I've always wondered and thought that children are naturally artists and this should be nurtured, but also left to a little freedom, and now I have a resource.
Basically there are 6 stages and note that the ages are approximate and it is okay for children to switch around or experiment with stages they have already gone through.
Stage 1 is Scribbling which is done from ages 18 months-3. Scribbling is done mostly for the feeling of it. Just as the brain and body are learning about the world through touching everything and the body is working on motor skills- climbing, walking, running, talking; scribbling is a similar stage and part of these motor skills. They take great satisfaction just seeing they can move this object and make a mark.
Stage 2, Basic Forms, is age 3-4 and is still scribbling but will include basic forms such as lines and shapes or possible "writing". Just as this age is learning about classifying objects as having shape, color, and form their art reflects it. At this stage children also have better language and communication skills and will begin to give the drawings titles or names or make up stories as they are drawing, but are not necessarily drawing what they are talking about or may change their mind about what they are drawing later- it's all very imaginative and creative.
Stage 3, Human Forms and Beginning Schemata, is ages 4-7. Children this age are developmentally beginning to better understand symbolic thought- that something can represent something else like letters and numbers for example. At this stage children will begin drawing representational people and things. The people usually look like a head or face with stick legs and as the child gets older he/she will gradually begin adding more details like arms, fingers, etc. Placement on the page is not important to the child and they may fill up the entire page with objects not worrying about how they relate to eachother.
Stage 4, Development of Visual Schema is ages 6-9. At this age "children are able to understand concepts of conservation and weight, they can arrange items in a series, and are beginning to be able to organize conceptually." This development is seen in the artwork as children begin placing houses and people standing on the ground, more representational shapes and colors like rectangle houses with triangular roofs, green trees, etc. Also, something the child wants to emphasize may be drawn in larger proportion to the rest of the picture.
Stage 5, Realism, is about ages 9-12. At this age "children begin to consider the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of others." At this stage children begin to better understand perspective in art (objects being smaller when far away for example). As children become aware of the world around them they also become more interested in drawing things more realistic looking & find photographs to be "better" than a painting because photos are realistic. Their actual drawings will not look realistic or like a photograph at this stage, but will include more details and children will add more 3 dimensional characteristics although not always accurately or in correct proportion. This is the stage where many children stop drawing unless encouraged and/ or taking classes. Some children may feel they aren't good enough to keep drawing because they cannot make their drawings look real. Some children may find other methods they prefer to use to communicate their inner feelings, such as writing or may choose other areas of interest to pursue.
Stage 6, Adolescence. "by the age of 13 or 14 years, children who have continued to make art will be able to use perspective more accurately and effectively in their drawings; will include greater detail in their work; will have an increasing critical perception of the environment; will have increasing mastery of materials; will be more attentive to color and design; and will be able to create abstract images. When young people are encouraged and given the opportunity to continue to develop and improve skills in drawing, their work can be quite impressive, detailed, thoughtful, and creative in both style and content. (Malchiodi Understanding Children's Drawing p.97)"
So, my conclusion is let your child fully explore each stage of drawing without criticism. Even that scribble is an important milestone in development. Then as your child (or you) enter the older child and adolescent stage think about this: just as the brain is ready for a more in depth knowledge and how-to's of science, math, writing, and other subjects it is also ready for the in depth how-to's of art in order for an interest in drawing to continue.
