Visual Arts
Helping Your Four-Year-Old Become an Artist
Helping Your Four-Year-Old Become an Artist
Older preschoolers enjoy the process of creating more than the final product. At 4, children work with more purpose and they may start to draw recognizable pictures as they gain more control over the marks. For example, they might draw a circle with two dots for eyes and four lines representing arms and legs, or long lines sticking out of a circle to represent the sun. This is an exciting milestone. They have discovered that their scribbles can actually be a symbol for something in the real world. They are learning to communicate through their drawings.
As 4-year-olds explore, they will be developing their problem-solving and hand and finger control. They can use child-safe scissors, thread wooden beans on a string, and form shapes out of clay. As you introduce new art materials, provide space and plenty of unstructured time to allow your child to create freely. Be prepared for a mess and give your child’s imagination space to soar!