Recent Doodles

The kids and I draw and paint very often together. I remember myself loving drawing and painting as a young child, but my mother would always get so mad at me for "wasting time" and not doing more studying with my school textbooks. I would always feel so torn and guilty whenever I drew or painted. After becoming an adult and now a mother, I can now say this with a relief that drawing is actually good for kids. 

"Drawing is not primarily a creative means of expression," says Eileen Adams, education officer for the Campaign for Drawing. "It is an intellectual activity -- a way of understanding the world. Just as pre-verbal infants babble, so young children make marks and squiggles in an effort to order and refine their thoughts. Ideas that are either unformed or only partly formed at the beginning gradually take shape and develop through the process of drawing." 

"The visual imagery that children acquire through drawing is vital to their later understanding of subjects such as geography and maths. Without an ability to map components or make sense of symbols, children's development in these areas is likely to be severely restricted."

I am confident to say that drawing is not only good for kids but it is good for people of all ages. In fact, without the making of art and without the appreciation for art, this world would be an even sadder and uglier place than it has already become in many aspects. 

Recently, the kids really enjoyed reading the picture book Best First Book Ever by Richard Scarry. So one day as we were doodling, I drew Lowly Worm for them.

Sophie helped me fill in the colors for Lowly Worm.

There he was! We also drew Mr. Frumble and Sally Cat, etc., all from the same book.

The next two were 100% by Sophie. She is 3 years and two months old as of today. She told me she was drawing Grandpa with glasses in this one,

and a snowbear (instead of a snowman) in this one.

We were also reading Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, and so I drew Little Blue with the big green toad on top.

We also drew random things like flowers and people.

Sometimes, we'd explore with watercolors, too. First I would mark the outlines with a gel crayon.

Then I'd let them have a go at it with the watercolors.

The following three were done by mommy ^^

This one is again, all Sophie

 Sometimes, it was the result of a collaboration.

The left one was drawn per Sophie's request, and the right one was drawn per Brandon's request. I could clearly see that they like very different things. 

They'll continue to grow and develop in their own unique ways, and someday they'll go their separate paths in a good way, but I hope they'll remember this precious time where they shared many hours being with each other and drawing together.