For those homeschool parents who haven’t done much art instruction with their children and are wondering where to begin, the book Drawing With Children by author/artist Mona Brookes is a great place to start. Written with parents in mind, Drawing With Children presents lessons and exercises to help children learn to draw, all the while improving their skills in visual perception, visual-spatial organization, and attention to detail. Parents who also want to learn to draw will find that they can work through the lessons alongside their students.
The first section of the book includes those things you and your child need to do before he begins to draw. Here Mona Brookes discusses how to help students change negative attitudes about their drawing abilities, how to prepare the workspace, and how to shop for supplies. She even includes exercises so you can determine your child’s starting level, as well as more general guidelines for different ages.
The lessons are divided into different levels, each one a little harder to do than the one that came before it. Lesson 1 involves learning the basics, as Brooks discusses the benefits of relaxing before you draw and the fun of experimenting with supplies. The next section teaches children how to recognize the five elements of contour shape, and by the end of the lesson, children are putting those elements together and discovering that they can draw after all!
Other lessons include drawing from graphics and drawing a still life, as well as drawing people and faces. Practice exercises and reference pictures are provided throughout the book, as are many color examples of student artwork. These are especially encouraging, as the artists’ names and ages are also included – some as young as five years old.
So if you are looking to add drawing to your curriculum this year, look into Drawing With Children. The method presented in the book really works – and it makes drawing fun!
Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography
Homeschooling Curriculum by SmartTutor.com
