For children, creating art is not about the product. Children use it to process, share, and record experiences. Children have their own opinions about their artwork and we should listen to and respect those opinions. There are developmental stages to children’s art that are universal. It’s important to understand these stages so we are prepared to talk with children about their artwork.
Stages of Artistic Development
All children begin drawing in similar ways. Initially, they swipe back and forth. At this stage, they are not intentionally trying to create. There are three stages of scribbling that start from birth. The first stage is exploratory scribbling, which is sensorial exploration of art media.
Then, there is disordered scribbling from 1-2 years. At this stage they are exploring movement ability as it relates to art and they can be introduced to new processes and media like watercolors or painting at an easel.
At 2-3 years they have more controlled movement and eye-hand coordination. Later, their marks starts to become something, and they identify their scribbles.
From 3 to 4 years, the child begins to draw large circles. They begin to include eyes and mouths in drawings and hands are added. In this stage there is no concept of space and images are floating on the paper. The chosen colors are emotional rather than symbolic. Later they get into details like hair and basic representations of the sun as a circle with rays.
In the symbolism or schematic stage from 5 to 8 years, the family members begin to take on certain characteristics. The whole human is represented and there is a distinction in size. The child attempts to depict space with a foreground and background. The x-ray effect also appears in drawings, which is looking in to objects like cars or buildings.
The realism stage occurs from 9 to about 12 years. At this stage, they are able to draw what they can see, and perspective is introduced. They are refining their observational skills. We typically see them designing rooms in their drawings and they can abstract more readily. At this age they are in a stage of hero worship and they draw imagery around heroes. In the pseudo-realistic stage, they are working towards a personal identity and peer acceptance.
The period of decision happens around 14 to 16 years. At this point, the style becomes more defined as they are more solidified in their identity. Their artwork is about who they are as an individual.
Responding to Artwork
When creating art, we want the child to be in the moment and into the process. In The Montessori classroom, we do not place value on the product so the chalk gets erased, and the clay goes back into the container. The child can choose to take their artwork home, gift it to someone else, or recycle it. These concepts also apply to other work that the child creates in the classroom. We place value on the process as this is where the real work has been done. The child is strengthening neural connections in their brain as they guide their hands to make purposeful movements, repeat the activity, concentrate, and express themselves.
Here are a few points to keep in mind when a child shares their artwork:
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Avoid subjective comments - authentically communicate with the child and avoid any reflective comments and subjective praise. You can ask questions about the drawing or just make objective comments such as, “You used two colors today”, or “I see a red line and a blue circle”.
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Do not impose your own judgement and respect their opinions.
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Start conversations - use their artwork as opportunity to model how to express emotions, make connections, and describe what you see. This can also be done with artwork from other artists.