Mistakes are not "wrong"

Download the three files at the bottom of this blog to help your child learn to draw.

I remember my father teaching me to draw.  He made one line and I copied it, then he made another and I copied it.  I didn't see how these lines were going to become anything until they came together and the face of Fred Flintstone appeared, it was magical.  

Drawing remains with me one of the most rewarding things in my life so I love helping children learn this skill.  

Sketchbooks are for making mistakes
The sketchbook is for thinking with our markers as we draw.  We use markers so we don't spend our time erasing in class.   A sketch is a quick practice drawing.  It helps to see what to do by looking at what what isn't being done. 

If we are trying to make a large circle, as big as our hand, and we draw a small one, we draw over the small shape to make the one we really want: the bigger circle.  We use the mistake as a gauge to help us do it correctly.  It's easier not to repeat the same mistake if we look at the mistake as a guide and helper.  Mistakes are not "wrong" nor are we wrong for trying to learn a new skill.

This is not easy for children.  We all want to do it right the first time and we feel we should be able to do it well right away.  Everyone feels this way, even adults.  These are our personal feelings getting in the way again of our abilities to stay open to learning. Learning to like ourselves for not being perfect and accepting our mistakes as opportunities is big work.  

Ways to help your child learn to draw:

• Make drawings yourself and let your child see that you have to also work at getting it "right".  Keep your own sketchbook.
• Keep "mistake" drawings and later go back and turn them into imaginative creatures. Once you have a "throw away" there is nothing more that can go wrong, so use it to your advantage to be fearless with ideas.
• Tape a large piece of paper to a wall for a family drawing board.  Leave a pencil, crayon or washable marker nearby.  Encourage your family members to draw something on it as they walk by for just a few seconds or as long as they wish.  Just one line with every pass can become a drawing by the weeks end.  
• Like my father did, sit down and ask your child "What kind of animal would would like to learn to draw?"   There are lots of how to draw books.  Start with very simple shapes: circle, square, oval, triangle, trapezoid.
• Look at the work of artists like 
• Read "The Beautiful Oops" by Beaney Saltzberg

The files below are examples I have used in class and you can use at home with your children.

animal_shapes.docx
File Size:	80 kb
File Type:	docx

Download File

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dog_and_bear.docx
File Size:	25 kb
File Type:	docx

Download File

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geometric_shapes.pptx
File Size:	62 kb
File Type:	pptx

Download File

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