So I don't meant that to come off as harsh as it sounds, but LO is 3.5 and seems like he is way behind in his art skills (and not so worried about what this means for his artistic abilities, as whqat it maybe means for fine motor? or whatever artistic ability is related to developmentally). His pictures still consist of scribbles, and I"m not really sure that they're very representative (i.e. I don't think he comes up with an idea and then decides, oh I want to make a picture of that--not sure if that's also a developmental thing?). Meanwhile, I have seen many kids his age or younger who are drawing people, things, places, etc. I'm not really "concerned", per se, I guess I just think it's a little odd? Not sure when these skills will develop, especially since he has almost no interest in drawing. Anyone else's kid like this at this age?
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Yup my son is the same way and just learned how to draw a purposeful circle and line. Hes.just not that into drawing. I wouldn't worry
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Dd1 turns 4 in April and only in the last 2-3 months has she started going beyond scribbles. It seemingly happened overnight. I don't really consider this a "milestone" so I didn't really worry about it. She loves to draw too!
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DS1 will be 4 in 3 months....still scribbles though is interested in tracing letters and trying to draw things now. I'll draw the body of an animal and he'll draw the legs (lines lol). I think he's a little behind in this area, but I'm not concerned
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@regberadaisy: interesting! So maybe in the next few months...he doesn't really like to draw right now, maybe that will change too!
@winniebee: so also maybe in the next few months things will change!
@stargal: how old is he? He can draw a line and circle if you ask him to (and he feels like doing it lol) but doesn't really incorporate those into drawing.
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I think it might be more that he doesn't have the hand dexterity to properly hold a writing utensil at that age more than not having the skill to do the actual drawing, does that make sense?
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@hilsy85: yea, she has always loved drawing! I attribute a lot of it to daycare. In the preschool room they have been working on tracing and such. So I think that has helped her draw shapes. For the longest time, circles were the only thing besides scribbles.
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I don't think it's odd that a 3.5 year-old isn't doing representational drawing. My LO didn't have much interest in drawing using crayons or pencils, but he liked painting with brushes okay and using sticks to make marks in sand, so we did that instead. He mostly preferred to do other fine motor-type things at 3 and 4, so I went with it. He still doesn't like crayons, but he doodles a lot with pens at 5 and his writing is developing really nicely, even though he didn't really do much drawing or any pen-and-paper writing until this year.
I think the key is to find some sort of fine motor play that he enjoys. It doesn't have to be drawing or writing, and not doing it now definitely does not mean he'll be behind.
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DS is 3.5 and really only drawing circles and scribbles at this point. His teacher pointed out to me that he still doesn't ave the pro[er grasp for writing so I imagine that's some of it. He's also just not really into drawing or coloring. He'd much prefer something that uses gross motor skills like jumping, running, etc.
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Our preschool (4 yr old class) just brought up that they are working on coloring skills (particularly with the boys). Little things like coloring in the lines, taking time to cut straight etc. I think its more a skill of taking your time and pride in your work that actually having art skills. When it comes time for them to do a math worksheet, you want them to know how to not make a mess of the worksheet.
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@hilsy85: E is the same way, she still just scribbles with all the colors and says "look mom it's an elephant." I think her thing is she doesn't have patience to actually try and draw or stay in lines, ect. I'm not concerned yet, but I've definitely thought about it. My concern is she has no desire to sit and "learn" anything. Letters, colors, reading she will sit for maybe 5 minutes and jump up and say I'm done or just doesn't listen. I feel like she's going to fall behind if she doesn't try.
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My son didn't do any realistic looking, identifiable art until around 4.5. But he was a already a wiz at Lego building by then, so I wasn't worried at all. I think it's part fine motor skills, part personal interest. When I see art displayed at daycare, it seems to me that the girls are, in general, quicker to make recognizable art than the boys.
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Same thing here, and I'm also a bit worried. Sounds like it's normal though...
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@looch: that's kind of what I meant--like what does the fact that he doesn't do art mean for his global development. He is ok at other fine motor skills, like using tongs to pick up pom pom balls, for example. But he doesn't really hold a crayon properly yet, usually it's just in his fist.
@honeybear: He is not really interested in painting or tracing or anything like that...I shoudl ask his teachers about fine motor skills he does like in the classroom.
@bushelandapeck: same here!
@T.H.O.U.: ha I am SO not worried about coloring in the lines or cutting straight lines--just coloring, generally! I definitely am not expecing those things til much later. I do think boys can be a bit behind as well.
@LuLu Mom: same! I can't get him to sit and do that stuff at all. Other people (my mom, his teachers) have much more luck.
@lamariniere: what's lego bundling? Your LO is such a great artist now, I would have thought he'd been doing it really early!
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My LO turned 4 two months ago. We had similar scribbles coming home from school but with stories until recently "look it's a whale" and so on. In the last month or so she started drawing people with heads and bodies--mostly princesses! It feels like it came out of nowhere!
We also just did her 4 year old developmental questionnaire and there was a question about drawing a person with at least 4 body parts, which she can just now do. So it is a part of milestones for her age.
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@hilsy85: oh, just building all sorts of things with Legos both with and without instructions (so ok for fine motor and ok for creativity
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@hilsy85: Yep agreed. She does letters at daycare & her gymnastics teaching assistant came up to me yesterday and said "for 3 years old she listens and follows instructions so well, you should be proud" and I just laughed, this is not something we hear ever. Listening is not her strong suit!
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@hilsy85: 3.5 he doesnt really to draw to much. He wants me to
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@hilsy85: Can he cut with scissors in a straight line? That was another big milestone I remember.
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@hilsy85: is your LO in day care? Our day care is doing school prep lite, and focusing on letters and numbers, so I don't think DS is really encouraged to just draw there. I'm trying to work on it at home, but he just goes straight to drawing letters and isn't interested in anything else!
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@T.H.O.U.: eh...he's still working on scissors. He can do one cut at a time, and doens't hold them in one hand really--he uses two hands to open and close them.
@Mama Bird: he's in preschool, but it's definitely play based and not academic.
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@hilsy85: sounds like my DD. She is almost 5 and in pre-k. She has zero interest in arts unless her friends are doing it. She just started writing letters in the past few months. Her teacher assures me that she is doing great and will be ready for K in the fall.
As a side my DS was the complete opposite - drawing figures at age 2.5, LOVES to color and draw and doing art projects and writing at 3.
Its so hard to not compare my DD to my DS but I try to remind myself that she will get there when she is ready
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@hilsy85: LO was pretty categorically not interested in drawing and did not ask to paint at 3.5. We painted together on occasion because I like painting Christmas ornaments (well, in the month or so leading up to Christmas!). Once I figured out that he found painting reasonably interesting once in a while, I got the paints out occasionally and he painted on paper. I don't think a lack of interest in drawing or painting at 3.5 means anything at all. LO really enjoys drawing now and he's good at doing both that and writing.
I know it's hard not to compare your child with others, but I would try to resist that temptation.
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I've seen quite a range too. My lo is circles and lines (and I think that's the minimum the doc wanted to see last time we had a developmental check up). He can cut single lines and can tear paper. If he was going to trace, he would just draw a line over the letter... He's 3. I was a with a friend whose son is a similar age who could color inside the lines for the most part! We are not even close.
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DS is 3.5 as well and has just now become interested in coloring at all, which consists of scribbling on a picture, with one color, until it's completely colored.
He brings home little worksheets from school where he was supposed to have traced letters or shapes, and it looks like he honestly couldn't have cared less about it. I just don't think he's interested in it, therefore hasn't developed much in that area, I'm sure it will come though!
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DS is almost 3.5 and not really into coloring. He can barely scribble. I feel like he used to be better at it and I pulled out the crayons a couple weeks ago (it probably had been months!!) and he seemed like he didn't even know how to press down and hold the crayon so it would color on the paper. He just wanted to watch and tell me what to color. lol He's never been into art so I don't really put out drawing stuff much, but maybe I need to just let him practice more. He just wants to play with his trucks all day!
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@hilsy85: DS will be 4 in April and he's not interested in arts and crafts at all. He has no interest in learning to draw/trace at all. I spoke with his preschool teacher about it at his conference back in November because my husband was a little concerned, and she insisted it was 100% normal for his age and just the simple fact he was a boy. She said the majority of her 3 year olds had little interest in such things because they just have a hard time sitting still. It's a skill that requires sitting and really concentrating for a bit, and she just didn't have many 3 year old that were into it. She said it was much more likely to make an appearance in VPK next year.
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@hilsy85: Then I'd suggest a few things, maybe using different crayons, like the egg shaped ones, or a sand tray for tracing. If he can use his pointer finger, he can draw without using the pencil grip.
I think it's better to let them develop the pencil grip when they have stronger muscles so you're not having to undo bad form.
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@lamariniere: L sounds like a lot like E right now. E is a Lego/Duplo master, but not big into shapes and such with drawing. He likes to do scribbles, but not much beyond that.
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This made me laugh because it brought up a memory of my nephew. I went and hung out in his class one day and watched him during an art project that involved carefully rolling a marble that had been dipped into paint around on a piece of paper. He was clearly bored and wanted to move on to something else as fast as he could, so while the other students (mainly girls), took their time to roll this marble around, he quickly made it bounce and moved on. He was a lot like @ @jmarionsmith:'s child--just not into it!
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LO was never too interested in drawing, although he could do it if I asked him to draw me something specifically. Then suddenly at 4.5 he started coloring inside the line, and making amazing drawings seemingly out of nowhere. All that to say, give it time and try not to worry.
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I had to come back and add this picture that came home from school today. When I saw it I just had to laugh
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@jmarionsmith: This is pretty much exactly how my LOs (female) artwork looks like and she'll be 3.5 in May. She usually makes straight line scribbles or circles.
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There is a super wide range at that age, I think. My 2.5 year old has been drawing faces for a few months, but they aren't perfect faces---and she's always been into drawing and coloring.
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Here's a great post from a pediatric occupational therapist with the milestones they look for in this area. Looks like your little guy is doing just fine!
http://mamaot.com/developmental-progression-of-handwriting-skills/ -
Two additional thoughts:
1. I think the key skill for art at this stage is observation. I know you're more concerned with overall development, but I don't think there are good realistic artists who aren't keen observers, and that's a skill worth having even if you aren't an artist.
2. The turning point for LO's drawing was when I showed him line drawings of airplanes--his favorite subject--and we did a few together. Coloring books and other prepackaged arts and crafts-type activities were a complete bust.
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