4yo who cannot or will not draw themselves?

[JellySlice]

I just put out a fresh tea-towel. It's one of those pre-school Christmas towels, where each child has drawn him or her self and the nursery staff wrote the child's name under their picture. The very youngest children made handprints.

I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but autumn-born ds was 4 when this towel was made, and his contribution was a hand print. All the other handprints were from the youngest children, the under-3s.

Ds has always been prolific at the art table, but his artworks were mostly of the splodge school. He followed instructions at nursery, especially in 1:1 or very small group situations.

Would it raise any alarm bells that a 4yo could not or would not draw themselves?

I’m sure it could be a concern, but not necessarily. Is the full picture that he just didn’t want to do it? Or that he cannot?

My autumn born DS wouldn't write, draw or colour. He couldn’t comfortably hold a pen correctly prior to starting school. At the end of reception he got exceeding in every element of his school report (including writing and creative arts and design). He still finds art a waste of good Lego time.

Can they draw themselves now?

4 is really very young and young kids can be fickle. Sometimes they just decide they don’t want to do something for no discernible reason. Maybe they thought thehandprint seemed more fun?

We recently did the 4 year HV check which involves a checklist of stuff for DC to do. One of them was to draw a person with some features, head arms etc.

Dd couldn't/wouldn't do it (drew a monster instead)

HV said it's not an issue as they all pick it up at different times. Asking as they get the opportunity to draw etc regularly

My 6yo probably wouldn't have done this at 4 either. He just wasn't interested in drawing at all until this year, and even now his drawing is "behind" his peers. But we all develop at different rates and times. I try to do a lot of other fine motor skills activities with him (well not so much now he's 6, but when he was 4 I did), have a look on Pinterest for ideas if you fancy doing the same

Ds has always had excellent FMS. At 4 he was constructing Meccano and building those little boxed Lego sets. Proper Lego IYSWIM, and following the instruction booklets independently.

Whole arm / body activity helps with pencil control too, so climbing trees, riding a bike, soft play, tennis, football, running, etc are good.

Have his Pre school raised any concerns about his fine motor skills?

I bloody love those tea towels. We still laugh over 'Finn' s squiggle, he looks like an amoeba. Finn is now my dds boyfriend and has just got into Bristol to do maths.

Was this last Christmas? Can he draw himself now?