Drawing is one of the many languages that children use to ‘talk’ about their world. Long before a child can hold a pencil, they will discover that they can use their fingers to make marks in the sand – or a spoon to make marks with their food. Through drawing, children can represent their emotions, actions, ideas and experiences.
Practitioners can help support children through this creative process by providing them with a range of stimulating experiences and by engaging in meaningful interactions with the child.
Practitioners are often under a lot of pressure to develop children’s writing and mark-making before the children are developmentally ready, which is ‘to the detriment of spontaneous drawing’, points out early years and creative arts consultant Anni McTavish.
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