Do you teach your child how to draw?

[HeadsShouldersKneesAndMyGreatAuntsWalkingStick]

Sorry if the answer is an obvious yes.

I assumed that something creative like art would be an area of development that happens more organically, so children would explore themselves (as opposed to something that is taught like writing), to be free with. I've always just left DD to it.

Lately though I've found myself showing DD4 how to draw stuff like a house, a tree, a 'm' flying bird... after glimpsing a more detailed drawing by one of her classmates.

So do you show your child how to draw or do they just pick it up along the way, drawing the shapes and compositions they see?

It will develop naturally but there's nothing wrong with drawing alongside them so they can see what you have done. I hate it when nursery age children draw stick men because they have obviously been taught to do it that way and it's not a natural development.

The natural development tends to be circle for face with basic features, then arms and legs - bodies come much later. Don't tell them what they are doing is wrong but you could make suggestions e.g. has he got hair? has he got legs? If they draw a dog with 3 legs (or 10) you could count them together and ask 'How many legs has Rover got?' for example.

Not really sometimes if they were drawing or whatever I’d draw beside them but if they’re going to be artistic they just are, I can barely draw a stick man

I have zero artistic talent so I didn't. We did all the usual pasta art and finger paints.
DS actually taught himself and is now at 40 a professional fine artist and is incredibly talented. I have no idea where he got it from, not from me thats for sure.

Not directly, but I draw with them so they can see what I'm doing and will often copy.

With the younger ones, just transitioning from scribble to drawing something meaningful, I'll sometimes point out 'oh he doesn't have any eyes!' or 'shall we give her a smily face' to demonstrate the idea that the marks on the page represent something tangible.

All the kids have ended up better at drawing than I am so I wouldn't worry that it's on you to teach them.

I didn’t but his classmates are all way better than him and I wish I had

I haven't but DC are in a small school with mixed age classes, they often come home having learnt a new drawing skill from an older child. If they're struggling with something I'll help/advise.

Not really when she was little, she always liked to draw and got better on her own- I would sometimes sit with her and we would draw at the same time.
When she was about 8 I showed her the 'little tricks' that I had been taught as a kid- like how to draw cartoon noses from the front or feet that faced forwards rather than having all people stand with their toes at 9 and 3. But she would have figured that out on her own at some point anyway

You don't need to teach them. Just give opportunities for mark making and encourage as in praise process not results. I found it fascinating to watch their drawings of e.g. a person develop. They start off with two parts (a part is counted as head, body, arms or legs.) and then add a third and then the fourth, then after this they will add things like fingers and facial features, often wonderfully exaggerated until they begin to tone it down and make it more realistic.

DS 4.5 currently draws 3-part people: Legs, willy and bum, body, head. No arms!

I agree with the approach to get them to look at what they want to draw and work out the shapes from looking at it, it's interesting to see THEIR perspective, not just following a load of instructions of "make a picture of a dog".

There is a horrible twee poem about a boy drawing a flower somewhere which is irritating but would fit here.

No because I'm terrible at it! I don't think it hindered them, DD (age 8) is very good at drawing, far better than I am.

OK sorry it was neither a poem nor as twee as I remembered:

www.ndlcpreschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/THE-LITTLE-BOY.pdf

I mean my DS was naturally talented and then with my DD I tried and somehow made her worse at it! For my youngest I've just let her get on with it and then my elder 2 sometimes help her out with forming the shapes and she's doing a good job. I'm just not artistic at all!!

Dd is very into art. She’s almost 5 and ive always left her to it. Her drawings have recently moved from unidentifiable lines to actual identifiable things which are quite good. She has a very particular style but suddenly they have features etc. this sounds very boastful but I took her to an art gallery (free kids day) at half term and she sat herself in front of a painting and drew her version.
lots of people coo’ed at the cute kid drawing the Gainsborough. I was amazed the gallery staff could identify each painting from her drawings.

long way of saying, if you leave them to it they will learn.

I can’t draw at all. Mine are way worse than my daughters.