DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF CHILDREN’S ART
From: Creative Activities for Young Children, Mayesky, Neuman, Wlodkowski, Delmar Publishers,
As a child grows older, changes in height and weight, and gains new skills, he also develops different abilities in art. The artwork a three-year-old does is different from that of a four or five year old. It is different in the way it looks, as well as in the way it is made.
One who works with young children must know the different stages children go through in the development of art abilities. These stages are called “developmental levels.” A developmental level is a guide to knowing what a child can do in art at different ages, but it is not a strict guideline. Some children may be ahead or behind the developmental level for their age. Developmental levels tell the teacher what came before and what is to come in the artwork of the preschool child.
There is no exact pattern for each age level. NOT ALL three-year-olds behave alike, nor are they completely different from four-year-olds. But there is a gradual growth process that almost every child goes through. This growth process is called development. It begins in art with the first scribbles and goes through drawing pictures. The following discussion of three stages in art development is a general guide to learning about the overall process of development.
An understanding of developmental levels means that the adult accepts the child at his present level, whatever it is. To understand development is to know that forced practice in art is unnecessary and useless.
Ability in art develops as the child grows and matures. As the child’s body and mind mature so does his art ability. A child learns to paint, model and build as he learns to walk – slowly, developing in his own way. He learns each new step in the process as he is ready for it. Preschool teachers must respect each child’s own pace.
There are three developmental levels of concern to the preschool teacher:
1) The Scribble State
2) The Basic forms stage
3) And the first drawing stage.
The basic forms and first drawing stages are of the most interest to parent and teachers of young children. The scribble stage gives us an idea of how the child begins to draw.
THE SCRIBBLE STAGE
The average child begins scribbling at about one and one-half to two years of age. A child scribbles with anything at hand an on anything nearby. His first marks are usually an aimless group of lines. Yet these first scribbles are related to later drawing and painting. They are related to art just as a baby’s first babbling sounds are related to speech.
The crayon may be held upside down, or sideways, or even with the fist or between clenched fingers. The child may be pleased with this scribbling. He may get real enjoyment from it. However, he does not try to make any definite pictures with his marks. He simply enjoys the physical motions involved in scribbling. It is THE ACT OF DOING, not the final product that is important to the child.
Early Scribble Stage: Disordered scribbling
During the early scribble stage the young child does not have control over the movements of his hand and marks on the page. The marks on the page can go in many directions. Direction depends on whether the child is drawing on the floor or on a low table. The way the crayon is held also makes the scribbles look different. But, the child is not able to make the crayon go in any one way on purpose. There is neither desire not the ability to control the marks.
Later Scribble Stage: Controlled Scribbling
At some point, a child finds a connection between his motions and the marks on the page. This may be about six months or so after the child has started to scribble. This is a very important step. The child has now found he can control the marks he is making. The adult cannot see any real difference in these drawings. They still look like scribbles, BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT. Gaining control over his scribbling motion is a vital experience for the child. He now is able to make them go in the direction he wants. Most children scribble at this later stage with a great deal of enthusiasm, since coordination between seeing and doing is an important achievement.
Because the child enjoys his newly found power, he is encouraged to try new motions. He may now scribble in lines, zigzags, or in circles. When he repeats motions it means he is gaining control over certain movements. Children can become very involved in this type of scribbling. Sometimes they scribble with their noses practically glued to the paper.
THE BASIC FORMS STAGE
Basic forms like rectangles, squares, or circles, develop from scribbles. They develop as the child finds and recognizes in his scribbles a simple shape. More importantly, they develop as the child finds the muscle control and “hand-eye coordination” (use of both hand(s) and the eyes at the same time) to repeat the shape.
At this point, the drawings look more organized. This is because the child is able to make basic forms through his control of line. A child in the age range of three to four years is usually in the basic forms stage.
It is important to note again that there may be an overlap between developmental levels in art. For example, a three-year old child may be drawing basic forms as well as an occasional scribble. Or, some three year-olds may still be totally in the scribble stage. Developmental levels are meant merely as guidelines, not as set laws on age and ability levels.
Early Basic Form Stage: Circle and Oval
Generally, the first basic form drawn is the oval or circle. It develops as the child recognizes the simple circle in his scribbles and is able to repeat it. Both the oval and the circle develop from circular type of scribbles.
Another early basic form in this stage is the curved line or arc. The curved line or arc is made with the same swinging movement of the arm used in the early scribble stage. Now, however, it is in one direction only. This kind of line gradually becomes less curved, and from it come the horizontal or vertical lines.
Later Basic Forms: Rectangle and Square
As the three to four year old child’s muscle control gets better in this stage, there are more basic forms in his drawings. The rectangle and square forms are made when the child can draw separate lines of any length he wishes. The child joins the separate lines to form the rectangle or square.
The circle, oval, square and rectangle are all forms made by the child’s control of lines. These basic forms are needed in the next developmental stage of art – the first drawing stage.
THE FIRST DRAWINGS STAGE
With the two earlier stages complete, the child now has the ability to make at will the variety of marks the children use for their first drawings. The first drawings stage is the next developmental level in art. Many four-year-olds and most five-year-olds are at this level.
First drawings are different from scribbling in that they are not made by chance. Instead, they are made by the child for a purpose. First drawings are what many people call “children’s art.” The basic forms perfected in the preceding stage suggest images to the child which stand for ideas in his own mind. The child now sets out to make certain figures. A new way of drawing begins. From the basic forms he is able to draw, he chooses only those that he needs. He leaves out miscellaneous scribble. In this way, he comes to his first symbol. A SYMBOL is a visual representation that stands for something important to the child, it maybe a human figure, an animal, or a tree.
The ability to draw symbols comes directly from the last stage. The basic forms gradually lose more and more of their connection to body motion only. Basic forms are now put together to make symbols. These symbols stand for real objects in the child’s mind. In scribbling, the child was mainly involved in a physical activity. Now the child sees real meaning behind what he is drawing.
The human form is usually the child’s first symbol. The man is typically drawn with a circle for a head, and two lines for legs or body. Other symbols are often houses, flowers, and animals.
A child’s further attempts at symbols grow directly from the basic forms he can make. Flowers and trees are combinations of spiral scribble or circles with attached straight lines for stems or trunks. Houses, windows, doors, flags and similar objects, are simply made up of rectangles and straight lines.
Early First Drawings
In the early period of the first drawings stage, a child works on making and perfecting one or many of his symbols. He practices these symbols covering sheets of paper with his many examples of the same subject. For example, a child may draw windows and doors over and over in each drawing. Also at an early point in this stage, a child’s picture may be a collection of unrelated figures and objects. This type of picture is a sampling of the child’s many tries at making different symbols. At this point, pictures are quickly done in a very few minutes.
During this early first drawings stage, the child is searching for new ideas and his symbols change constantly. He draws a man differently today than he did yesterday. In this stage, there is often the greatest variety of forms which stand for the same object. Early first drawings are very flexible in appearance. A man may be drawn differently in every picture.
Later First Drawings Stage
Through much practice, a child can now draw symbols easily and more exactly. Many four-year-olds and most five-year-olds perfect to their own liking a series of many symbols. The child takes pride in these symbols.
A child at this later point often likes to see these symbols clearly and neatly set on the page. They are now drawn one at a time with few or no other marks on the page. The symbol is clear and well drawn. If the child can draw the letters of his name on the page as well, this is all he feels belongs in the picture.
For a while, the child is content to make these finished yet isolated examples of his drawing skills, but it is not long before more complex drawings are made. Young children four to five years of age are able to use their symbols in drawings that tell a story or describe an event.
By five and one-half to six years of age, a child generally is ready to make pictures of anything in his experience or imagination. His drawings are made up of combinations of symbols he can draw. The child can also create new symbols when the situation needs them for adequate expression.
The child now has his own special way of drawing the human form, houses and other symbols. This individual way of drawing is called a schema. A schema, or individual pattern, often can be seen in drawings by the age of six. A schema comes after much practice at drawing symbols. Once the child has a schema, his symbols are his own special marks. A schema is special for each child just as an adult has his own signature.
Importance of Schema
The schema the child draws represents something that is important to him. This something is part of him, his environment, and his experience. He includes in the picture things which are emotionally important to him.
The child draws schema in the picture not in the size it should be, but in a size that shows the emotional importance of this object to him. For example, people and things important to him might be drawn larger and with more details. The people or things he dislikes may be drawn smaller. If he draws a tree he may draw the limbs larger because the tree is used for climbing. If it is an apple tree, the apples may be drawn very large. The child expresses other responses to his environment in his drawings. A painting showing the child walking on wet grass may show the feet and toes large in size. This is to express how it feels to walk on wet grass.
Importance of First Drawings
At about the same time a child develops his own schema, he begins to name his drawings. To name a drawing is really an important step for the child. It is a sign that the child’s thinking has changed. He has connected his drawings with the world around him. By naming his drawings, he shows that he is relating his thinking to things outside himself. A beginning is made in a new form of communication, communication with the environment.
Soon he may think: “My daddy is a big man; he has a head and two big legs. Therefore, my drawing is daddy.” Through drawing he is making a clear relationship between his father and his drawing. The symbol of a man now becomes Daddy.
In his use of schema, a child expresses his own personality. He expresses not only what is important to him during the process of creating, but also how aware he has become in his thinking, feeling and seeing. From early drawings to the most complex, the child gives expression to his life experiences.
SUMMARY
As a child grows older and changes in height and weight, he also develops different abilities in art. There are three developmental levels in art of concern to the preschool teacher and to the parent. They are the scribble, basic forms, and first drawing stages.
The scribble stage ranges from about one and one-half to three years of age. It covers the time from the child’s first marks up to more controlled scribbles. The child enjoys the pure motion involved in scribbling.
The basic forms stage covers approximately ages three to four years. The child develops more muscle control and hand-eye coordination through his scribbling. Basic forms come when the child can see simple forms in his scribbles and is able to repeat them. The oval or circle is usually the first basic form, followed by the rectangle or square. The child now enjoys seeing forms emerge at his will.
The first drawings stage generally covers ages four to six. Basic forms made in the prior stage are put together to make up symbols. The human form, birds, flowers, and animals are examples of symbols. Naming drawings is an important part of first drawings. It means that the child can now communicate outside himself and with his environment. A child’s drawings are very individual and express his own personality.