Zero to Four: How Aanya's Art Changed Over Time...

Creativity is the bridge to learning. We all know that. And one of the most important ways a child tunes into creativity is by experimenting with Art materials. Today I was looking at some of Aanya's writing and artwork, I saw how it gradually changed and is becoming more controlled and complex as she is growing...I find it quite exciting.

How at very early age, both Art and Writing skills are one and the same. At first, it’s all about just figuring out what these cool things called crayons can do. At 15 months(1.5 years), Aanya held crayons first time and just the movement of her hand resulted in lines and scribbles. And it made her so happy.

 

And then, a year later, at 2.5 years, she developed a better control over the muscles in her hands and fingers, and her scribbles began to change and became more controlled.  She made repeated marks on the page—open circles, diagonal, curved, horizontal or vertical lines...

 

At 3 years, she started to Write. And that started with the letter 'A'. Probably because its the first letter of her name or may be because its the first letter of the alphabets. But it really was exciting. She was moving towards developing her writing skills.

 

And other than drawing something from crayons and pencil, I found she actually started to fill in colors. Filling colors is something that needs lot of concentration and at that age, patience and concentration skills is not much.

 

At age, 3.5 years, that is, during this summer vacation, Aanya started practicing her art and writing skills both. I gave her a notebook and made her practice. Her drawing changed from lines and circles to picture of something. Picture of unplanned something. And she would give it a name like a cat, dog, house, sun. 

 

And writing...she could write all alphabets :) So yes, this summer vacation was quite productive in terms of developing her creativity.

And finally, when she is almost 4 ( a month short), she can create stories by her drawing. She plans prior to her drawing as to what she will create. There are more details in the pictures. She has begun to purposefully draw images, trying to master symbolic thinking. She understands the difference between pictures and writing and hence I see her draw picture and write her name underneath it. She tries to share her story with me :)

Its a cat standing on grass. The sun is out to give her warmth :)

And talking about her coloring skills, it is lot better and she actually takes time in filling up an object.

Isn't that exciting? From scribbling to meaningful drawing. It amazes me when I sit down and think about the development process of a child. I am looking forward to how Aanya progresses in her Creativity via Art and Writing in coming years.

In order to encourage her skills, I do the following:

1. Make art a regular part of playtime: She has an Art room, full of crayons, pencils, markers, water colors, papers, scissors, glue and easel. I just let her do whatever she wants with those.

2. No instructions: I don't instruct her. I just let her experiment and explore and let her express herself in her own way. At times, I just sit down and observe her creation and guide wherever she needs it.

3. Notice the process, not the product: Its really important. Earlier I would comment on the color she filled. Why is tree red? It should be green. Why is house circle? It should be square. Later I realised, what she drew is not important. What she is thinking about her drawing is important. And now, I just appreciate her effort and ask more about what she drew. Ofcourse, tree can be red! :)

4. And finally, Display her work: That's how it makes her feel, her work is valued and is important.

Creative Expression lets children tap into the magic of their own imaginations—which is what being a child is all about. Right?