Drawing strategies

It is important to count with an art class, but to relate some contents of the subjects to the draws can enhance the values and skills aquired by drawing. This fact is always important, but specially when children do not have art class (which is necessary and important). Sometimes can be difficult to find time to draw, but it should be as important as other subjects. It does not consist on giving to children a paper and say: let's draw. Teachers should encourage children to draw, help them to develop this kind of skills, to go farther, to express their reality created into their space, to communicate throw a new or different way as they are used to, and to learn some concepts by the drawing strategy. It is not difficult, but it requires desire and motivation.

For example, one day a teacher left me alone with the kids (who were 6 years old), without anything to do, so I improvised the class. First of all, children were said to invent a story all together having my help. The story was improvised at the moment, and all of the kids participated to create it. It was our story. After that, they had to draw one part or some parts of the story, for example what they liked or interested more, or something related to the story, having the possibility of drawing it as they wanted or imagined. They liked this activity a lot because they created with freedom, both the story and the draw. Besides, they worked the imagination, the creativity, they practised the drawing activity, and it promoted the participation of each one.

Draw of one part of the story

Draw of one part of the story

Draw of one part of the story

Or it could be as simply as making children draw what they are learning. For example, if in class they are working the seasons they could draw a landscape every season of the year, making four draws, and at the final of the course compare the differences between them and describe what they can see in each one. 

I saw the children of the school where I am doing practises studying the seasons by repeating them in the exercises and watching a circle drawn by the teacher. Instead of this, they could have done a dynamic activity (the one was mentioned in the last paragraph) in which they would develop skills and abilities, and it would create a discussion between the students and the teacher in which children would learn a lot. Another option: they could have drawn their own seasons’ circle with (for example) recycled material, or better: each part of the circle that represents a season, created with typical colours and materials of each season. Or instead of drawing a circle, drawing a tree (and study what happens with trees during each season), or another figure (having sense with what children are working, or letting them to choose). The important fact is that they learn far away from the traditional method, and developing important skills (for example drawing).