Writing/drawing

[hkrcac]

Hi,

Just wondering when children start writing - maybe their first names on their own?
Also when can a child start drawing things on their own - not drawing/art classes but independently draw things without anyone drawing it for them first and they trying to copy it?

Thanks for your advice.

[jlam]

Hi. Well... I currently take oil painting as well as helping my teacher teach other younger students ranging from k1 to primary 6. From my experience, children need adults to be with them for a period of time and help them grasp the foundation before they have the ability to draw on their own. It's different for each child, but praises are most preferrable when you draw with them to give them the confidence. Once they get their confidence, everything should be fine :) I really hope this helps.

[syuan]

When my son was in K1, the teacher would have them practice drawing straight lines, curvy lines, circles, etc. But he just had no interest in doing so. He also was not interested in any type of arts and crafts. One year later, he suddenly developed great interest in writing and drawing. At 4 years old, he's able to write his first and last names (4 letters each), and he can write the whole alphabet, numbers, and dozens of chinese characters. He also likes to draw a smiley face sun, flowers, trees, people, etc.

In the beginning I was worried about his lack of interest in writing/drawing, so I tried all sorts of products: crayons, markers, magic pens, water pens, different notebooks, coloring books, etc. But I think the thing that really worked with him was when I bought him his own whiteboard with different colored pens and a whiteboard eraser. He liked the fact that he could be like the teacher, and also that he could easily erase what he didn't like. That led me to believe that his lack of interest came from being a perfectionist, that he was frustrated he couldn't draw/write something recognizable. So from then on, I would sometimes sit by myself and let him see me draw, nothing in particular, just different colors, scribbling, random things. And once he saw me do that, he would become interested in doing the same too.