ds is not good at art - now becoming noticeable - help!!

[zebramummy]

i need a strategy to improve ds' mark-making asap per his nursery report.

i never meant to compare him to his class mates at nursery but their pictures appear to resemble trees, people etc. ds is 4.4 but his art skills have actually gone backwards if anything. he only brought one picture home this term and nothing of his has ever been put up for display at nursery (yes, i do this at home before you ask)

i was apparently so good at his age that my nursery school teacher (a trained artist herself) predicted that i would also become an artist one day (i did not do this though remained quite good). i don't expect him to be that good; just able enough to colour the right bits of the picture in suitable colours and try to keep within outlines. his interest in writing has gone the same way too.

is there anything i can do to remedy the situation? so far, i have made available to him every medium under the sun to try out his 'ideas' - finger paints, glitter glue, crayons, chalks, all manner of paper and card.

he loves playdough though uses it more for imaginative play rather than for model-making. likes gloop, clay, helping with cooking but has had no cross-impact.

Leave your son alone and take a chill pill

He will get there if and when he wants to

What on earth will life be like for you both if god forbid he's slow on the uptake with reading, writing, maths, french ... etc.

My mum is an art teacher and says the very worst thing you can do with a young child is to 'teach' them art .It is all about their OWN expression.By teaching them to draw a formulaic tree or man or house you are stifling their creativity.

well, i quizzed the teacher a bit further today and she reiterated the comment about mark making whilst specifically referring to his artwork. however, she confessed that he does tell her what he is drawing 'a python, a tiger' etc. which made me feel a bit better as it cannot really be classed as random scribbling

when we got home he asked me if he could do some writing and he was showing a real interest in learning this. he asked me to do some finger painting too ; twice infact. we might be turning a corner(??)

[screaming smiley tearing hair out]

I'm sorry zebramummy, the teacher sounds like an idiot.

(as far as art goes, anyway. She's probably great at maths )

sorry - i probably am quite precious; however i do see myself as his main educator/PR person so i would be unlikely to simply disregard a report which will be given to his teacher at reception so as to colour her judgement at theoutset.
i am a sahm to an only child (not that i am making excuses!) but...

zebramummy mark making is NOT about ART your son may be using paint and brushes to make marks but it is about pre writing skills NOT art!!!

Not having a go at you- just don't take the teacher's word as gospel. She is wrong on this IMO.

Very few primary teachers are art trained specialists.

Good reception teachers make their own minds up about children, don't worry

mrz, it's the teacher that is muddying the issue- she keeps referring to zebra's ds's artwork.

The teacher, for example, is a......n idiot.

tethersend has the teacher referred to art work or paintings?

thanks, yeah i suppose she is one of the types of teachers who is sent on certain courses, picks up a bit of jargon and uses it to death, often in the wrong context : this has happened before after all.

zebramummy Mon 30-Nov-09 20:34:33
" sorry - i probably am quite precious; however i do see myself as his main educator/PR person so i would be unlikely to simply disregard a report which will be given to his teacher at reception so as to colour her judgement at theoutset."

Do you really imagine that if his reception teacher sees that he was not good at colouring neatly as a 4yo, this will influence the whole way that he is treated by art teachers right up to Sixth Form, regardless of how his talent develops in the meantime??? This is not how it works!!! Teachers know perfectly well that children change and develop; that is part of the pleasure of teaching. When he is ready to learn something new, the teacher won't be interesting in revisiting what he could or could not do in nursery and judging him on that.

Hopefully, he will also encounter teachers who understand enough about art to realise that it is not all about colouring in neatly.

I think you ought to review that whole idea of being his main PR person. Once he starts functioning on his own outside your sphere of control, going to school and gradually growing up, he will be his own main PR person. His education is very much about him finding his feet, and finding out what he enjoys or is good at. Parenting is about relinquishing control as much as anything else. And about realising that what looks like aimless unproductive play to you is vital learning to him.

Oh dear, I think in a few years' time you will look back on this and cringe with embarrassment/crack up laughing at yourself.

I hope.

i agree actually; right now though, he is a vulnerable little fledgling - i have never told him he is "doing it all wrong" and i am not pushy at all

actually this thread makes me feel a little embaressed for the op.

You really need to take a deep breath and think about what exactly you think your job is with this child - and what you are aiming for as his educator/PR person.

Your job is to make him feel that he is over whelmingly loved for everything that he tries to do regardless of his ability. What if he did have some kind of delay? Are you under the impression that the best way to help him would be to cram at the thing with which he struggles?
What do you want life to bring him? The joy of parenting, in fact the joy of life, is finding outthe things where you have some gift or talent and enjoying and embracing that. And the ability to accept with composure the areas where you are less able. Being shit at somethings is the very thing that makes you feel fab when you can really do something well.

Let go a bit. He does not have to be good at everything.
My son who was messy and rubbish at drawing is now doing A level art and won his schools art prize . DS2 always colours immaculately within the lines and has severe ASD.
I think the teacher is just explaining that his pre-writing is not quite ready - but your reaction to it suggests you should stand well back for a while and let him catch up in due course

peradua..just pmsl at "a pollock or a bollock it goes on the fridge"....may be using that one!

op, it's hard when teachers/nursery staff say things to you about your child because you tend to think that they must know, seeing loads of kids and then you want to help.....i really don't think you need to do anything...just provide him with stuff and let him explore and play....let school take the lead in teaching and give him space to practise at home if he wants but don't push him

i'd be if everyone didn't have stuff on the walls at this age too

mrz, I was going on the OP's post:

"well, i quizzed the teacher a bit further today and she reiterated the comment about mark making whilst specifically referring to his artwork"

So I assume that this is where the confusion began...

I think polly means "if everyone [i.e. every child at nursery] didn't have stuff on the walls [at nursery]".

This is outrageous and ridiculous - so many people have given you reason and evidence to persuade you to back off and lighten up, but all you've done is decide to keep up the pressure but in more sneaky ways (keep the paints permanently on display - sideways glances rather than hovering over him).

If his work isn't being displayed it's because the school isn't being fair in rotating the work so everyone gets a turn.

I'd point out his feelings are hurt by this - have done so in the past - you don't have to toe the line and agree with their damning conclusions, leaving him with tension and taking away any pleasure he could potentially have in this area.

If you won't stick up for your DS, who will? (And by this I don't mean being his PR).

Sorry this has got me grumpy - I'm artistic and relished the prospect of passing it on to DS, but he just wasn't turned on by it. Now he's 14, he's musical and has a great affinity for maths, among many other qualities I don't share.

I'm so glad I didn't pursue his artistic development as a project.

Put your clip board away.

That's not how I took the paints permanently on display thing, OLOPS -- more that OP has realised her efforts have actually been turning her DS off art so having the materials there for him to use whenever he wants is an attempt to take the pressure off and allow him to rediscover the enjoyment that he used to have (i.e. trying to undo damage done, rather than "keep up the pressure").