Would You Be Concnerned If Your Almost 8yo

[Outdoorsy Type]

Couldn't draw very well? At all? My biggest dude can read very well, and does well in Math. His only problems are with handwriting, and then his drawing is more like something a 4 or 5yo would do. :confused:

 

I'm thinking of doing Drawing With Children with him, and doing a nature notebook. Is there anything else I might use to help him?

[Mommyof4ks]

I would not be concerned if one of MY kids could not draw well, because my stick figures look sad. My hubby is not much better at art.

 

There are art books that teach drawing, and my dd is getting better despite no artistic talent in my family. We have one now that is teaching her to draw horses step by step.

[NanceXToo]

Well, no, because I'm 37 and I can't draw very well, either. :)

 

We've each got our own talents and strengths. Celebrate those!

[Hedgehogs4]

my ds (9 in two weeks) had atrocious handwriting and drawing, when he was just sitting down "drawing"--looks about what his 5yo sister was doing. in fact, my dh couldn't tell who had drawn what so he had to be really careful when asking who did what so as not to insult him.

 

in the last year, his handwriting and his drawing have improved, though it depends on the circumstances. i put him in art class, and he is EXCELLING. he has a fantastic teacher, and thankfully, my son has a very. long. attention span. handwriting has improved since starting cursive. it seems to agree better with him than printing, and i just keep him working on it. it is something he must do every day.

 

so, no...i would not be worried. i think it is a boy thing. slowly it is coming along. i think the wrong thing would be to give in to it and not keep expecting improvement. i also think that Drawing With Children would be an excellent choice. It is a very good, very accessible way to quickly change one's artistic ability.

[Food4Thought]

My almost 7-yr old still struggles with fine motor skills like drawing. My 4 year old draws these incredibly complex pictures of turtles with hearts on their shells. My son might draw arms on his stick figures. However, DS does incredibly complex math problems in his head, whereas DD still skips number 15 when counting to 20.

 

We've all got our strengths and weaknesses. Helping him learn how to see and then to draw will probably help, but he may never be truly "good" at drawing. (where's that "shrug" emoticon when I need it?)

[Mommamia]

My ds 8 does not draw well at all. It doesn't bother me. He does not enjoy handwriting or fine motor work of any kind. My dh reassures me that he did not enjoy those things either, but he enjoyed other things. As a pp said...we each have our strengths and weaknesses.

[catz]

My 9 year old doesn't draw well at all! Or write. When he makes an effort, it's not bad, but it's really not his thing. He's accelerated in everything else and he's learned how to type, so I'm not worried about it at all. My DH has atrocious writing and can't draw more than a smiley face, but has still had great success as an adult. :001_smile:

[Nan in Mass]

You might look at Draw Squad.

[guateangel]

My dd is 7.5 and does not draw or write well....it looks like a 4yr old. She has some vision issues and needs vision therapy (at $800 a month, we cannot afford it, unfortunately.) DD has always had poor fine motor ability and does not enjoy drawing or writing, although she thinks her penmanship and art is beautiful. :) I'm trying really hard not to poor so much time and energy into teaching her how to draw or write, instead we are working on her strengths...reading, memorization, etc. We've done Occupational Therapy and HWT for the past 3 years with little progress. I know in my heart vision therapy is what she needs.

 

ETA: So basically what I'm saying is if you are concerned, I wouldn't delay having his eyes checked by a Pediatric Ophthalmologists -- not just any Ophthalmologist but one who is experienced with children and vision problems. Trust your motherly instincs!!!

Edited July 28, 2010 by guateangel

[Paige]

My almost 9yr old doesn't draw well most of the time. If we go to a restaurant with a coloring page he scribbles like a 2yr old. Actually, my 2yr old does more realistic scribbling. But- he doesn't want to draw like everyone else. He wants to do it his own way. He will say he's "drawing a story" which does not involve realistic pictures but just something else entirely. Maybe your son isn't interested in drawing like the average person would expect but has his own ideas of what type of art he wants to create.

 

I also agree with the others, however. I can't draw well either. I hated art classes at school because I always felt inadequate.

[Mallory]

I also agree that it isn't a big deal AND that he might prefer the more cartoony drawing of Draw Squad to Drawing with Children.

[Joyofsixreboot]

My 9yo doesn't draw or write well. At all. I mean it's really bad. It doesn't seem to affect his enjoyment of drawing pokemon like monsters but it makes it hard for me to appreciate them. He does have eye problems so I have put it down to 1) He couldn't see when kids are first learning this stuff 2) He's a boy 3) Dh and I are not artistic.

[...................]

I went to one of Andrew Pudewa's seminars at my convention this year, and he pointed out that when women, especially, analyze boys' drawing, we tend to completely downplay and misunderstand their creations.

 

We might see a little girl's drawing of...say...a complex turtle with hearts on its back (Thanks PP for that adorable example) and there's grass, and flowers, and trees, and a rainbow. And we say, "Oh little girl that drawing is beautiful, I can see how you worked on this." We smile. We love it.

 

THen we look at the little boy's drawing and we see all these crazy lines, lines up, lines down stick figures upside down, stick figures sideways, some random dots that he calls bullets, and it looks like a mess to us. We say, "Oh that's nice little boy." We convey that we are disappointed and Little Boy feels like his drawing was not up to par.

 

Meanwhile, the little boy sees a piece of paper completely different than [most] girls. He sees ACTION!! It's all about ACTION. All those lines are movement, all those dots are bullets flying through the air, all those stick figures are men moving in fast flight of war or action of some other kind. All the details merely get in the way for the little boy.

 

A year ago, my son's drawings were lines, and stick figures, and robots. I didn't think he was very good at drawing.

 

Now that he's 8.5 I can see EXACTLY what Andrew was talking about. All those stick figures now have whimiscal faces with real personality on their smiles and arched eyebrows. The lines, more clearly show the action - the stick figure is moving up or sideways. Or there are curved lines that show that SOUND is moving in a certain direction. The bullets are now actually shaped like bullets and the guns look like guns and the heroes have smiles and the bad guys have frowns. There still isn't much detail but now I GET what's going on inside the HEAD of my boy.

 

That was just one part of his talk but it really stuck with me, I hope it helps! :D

[Outdoorsy Type]

 

we look at the little boy's drawing and we see all these crazy lines, lines up, lines down stick figures upside down, stick figures sideways, some random dots that he calls bullets, and it looks like a mess to us. We say, "Oh that's nice little boy." We convey that we are disappointed and Little Boy feels like his drawing was not up to par.

 

Meanwhile, the little boy sees a piece of paper completely different than [most] girls. He sees ACTION!! It's all about ACTION. All those lines are movement, all those dots are bullets flying through the air, all those stick figures are men moving in fast flight of war or action of some other kind. All the details merely get in the way for the little boy.

 

A year ago, my son's drawings were lines, and stick figures, and robots. I didn't think he was very good at drawing.

 

Now that he's 8.5 I can see EXACTLY what Andrew was talking about. All those stick figures now have whimiscal faces with real personality on their smiles and arched eyebrows. The lines, more clearly show the action - the stick figure is moving up or sideways. Or there are curved lines that show that SOUND is moving in a certain direction. The bullets are now actually shaped like bullets and the guns look like guns and the heroes have smiles and the bad guys have frowns. There still isn't much detail but now I GET what's going on inside the HEAD of my boy.

 

That was just one part of his talk but it really stuck with me, I hope it helps!

 

 

Yes! That is exactly how he draws! :D Maybe some of it is that his brain works much faster than his fine motor skills can keep up with.

[Food4Thought]

Meanwhile, the little boy sees a piece of paper completely different than [most] girls. He sees ACTION!! It's all about ACTION. All those lines are movement, all those dots are bullets flying through the air, all those stick figures are men moving in fast flight of war or action of some other kind. All the details merely get in the way for the little boy.

 

 

That makes a lot of sense! My DS is always telling stories while he's drawing - now I'll be able to see his drawings in a different way. Thanks for that!

[MissKNG]

I'm 32 and my drawings don't go much beyond stick people!

[monalisa]

If you don't mind Christian curriculum, you might look at I Can Do All Things by Barry Stebbing.

http://www.howgreatthouart.com/

 

We are going to use this for 2nd grade, and with the DVDs.

 

It is a lot of drawing instruction, and they draw right in the book. I didn't care for Drawing With Children and sold it. It was entirely too much text for me to wade through to figure out how to use it.

[Renee in NC]

I'll chime in and say it can be indicative of bigger problems. You didn't say *how* bad at drawing, though. Stick figures are perfectly reasonable, but something that doesn't resemble anything can be a symptom of motor integration.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

Lol, I'll be 25 in a month, and my 4.5 year old draws better than me, so no, I wouldn't be concerned at all! :D

[Hedgehogs4]

I went to one of Andrew Pudewa's seminars at my convention this year, and he pointed out that when women, especially, analyze boys' drawing, we tend to completely downplay and misunderstand their creations.

 

We might see a little girl's drawing of...say...a complex turtle with hearts on its back (Thanks PP for that adorable example) and there's grass, and flowers, and trees, and a rainbow. And we say, "Oh little girl that drawing is beautiful, I can see how you worked on this." We smile. We love it.

 

THen we look at the little boy's drawing and we see all these crazy lines, lines up, lines down stick figures upside down, stick figures sideways, some random dots that he calls bullets, and it looks like a mess to us. We say, "Oh that's nice little boy." We convey that we are disappointed and Little Boy feels like his drawing was not up to par.

 

Meanwhile, the little boy sees a piece of paper completely different than [most] girls. He sees ACTION!! It's all about ACTION. All those lines are movement, all those dots are bullets flying through the air, all those stick figures are men moving in fast flight of war or action of some other kind. All the details merely get in the way for the little boy.

 

A year ago, my son's drawings were lines, and stick figures, and robots. I didn't think he was very good at drawing.

 

Now that he's 8.5 I can see EXACTLY what Andrew was talking about. All those stick figures now have whimiscal faces with real personality on their smiles and arched eyebrows. The lines, more clearly show the action - the stick figure is moving up or sideways. Or there are curved lines that show that SOUND is moving in a certain direction. The bullets are now actually shaped like bullets and the guns look like guns and the heroes have smiles and the bad guys have frowns. There still isn't much detail but now I GET what's going on inside the HEAD of my boy.

 

That was just one part of his talk but it really stuck with me, I hope it helps! :D

 

:iagree: my ds still does those drawings of dots / bullets / ufos coming and taking the natives captive...whatever it may be. it all has meaning. yes, he has completed a painting of bobcat that is astounding for his age, but the larger body of his work is unintelligible unless he explains it...that is, the stick-figure drawing that he does at home and would never show his art teacher. i believe it's completely developmental for boys.

[FairProspects]

I'll chime in and say it can be indicative of bigger problems. You didn't say *how* bad at drawing, though. Stick figures are perfectly reasonable, but something that doesn't resemble anything can be a symptom of motor integration.

 

I have to agree with this. It can be a fine line between doesn't like drawing and can't draw. Ds always used to avoid the art center at preschool like the plague and we thought he just was more interested in other activities. It turned out he had vision issues and a fine motor delay so he couldn't draw even though he wanted to. While it may very well be that drawing isn't your ds's thing, it may also be a fine motor problem - this is where you should follow your gut and have it evaluated if you are worried about it.

[texasmama]

That wouldn't bother me. Fine motor skills are still developing at this age.

[radiobrain]

First of all, I agree with whoever posted the comments about Peduwa's "How to teach boys who would rather build forts all day" lecture. Most of what he said was spot on. Actually, my son who is not as talented in the drawing dept. was in the middle of an art class that he HATED and most of it had to do with the attitude of the teacher. She actually told him that he couldn't do the things he wanted and criticized him for his amount of action. I looked at his portfolio from the class differently after listening to that lecture and started laughing. ALL the work incorporated action, and if the teacher was looking at it from a typical 'feminine" perspective, I can see where it would drive her nuts.

 

A few other points. Many people are not particularly good at drawing. I might content that it is most people are bad at drawing. I think certain things you can't teach, you are born with and you can certainly get better at them with practice and hard work... but can you make a lefty a righty through practice? Yes, but it will never be very natural. I think it is the same as with physical things, there are some people that are naturally graceful, good at sports or things that involve their body....and there are others that are awkward and clumsy and just don't ever succeed too well in that realm. Same thing, different aspect.

 

So, don't sweat it. If YOU want him to get better, that is fine... just don't expect it to improve dramatically. I would say that the Draw Write now books or the ones from the library might help show some of the "tricks" to drawing that you and your kid don't know. There are a lot of them. I enjoyed the Drawing from the right side of the brain, it has some interesting exercises.

 

You might also want to encourage him to draw comics. and try to point out the things he has shown improvement on, or that you can tell he worked hard at. Drawing with a thin tipped sharpie on acetate over a photograph can also be a helpful exercise.

 

good luck, it is not a big deal! :D

 

Korin

3rd generation artist, married to a proffessional artist/illustrator

[kittysmom]

My nearly 8 yo's drawings are very hard to tell apart from his 5 yo brother's! So, no, I wouldn't be too concerned. My 8 yo doesn't enjoy drawing and has some trouble with fine motor skills, and my 5 yo enjoys art. It stands to reason that they have different abilities and interests!:)

[mom31257]

My 7 yo ds can't draw well. He used to get really frustrated that his drawings didn't look like they were "supposed to". He rarely even wants to draw on his own. His handwriting is coming along well, so I'm not too concerned.

 

I would be concerned if his other fine motor skills weren't showing improvement.

[VBoulden]

I like this quote alot.

 

"Too much have we emphasized drawing as an art; it may be an art, to the artist, but if he is not an artist, he still has a right to draw if it pleases him to do so. We might as well declare a child should not speak unless he puts words into poetry, as to declare that he should not draw because his drawings are not artistic."

 

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock :001_smile:

 

 

I was a terrible writer in school. I could hardly even read. Now, I publish articles and write for a paper. I had the heart for writing and if I had given up on myself, if I had listened to my teacher's voices, I would still be living that regret.

 

If your child has "the heart" for drawing but just isn't "good," I'd still encourage it, do programs that will equip them and make more room for it in your schedule. I think it depends on their interest level not their natural ability. If they have an internal desire to learn to draw well, that plus diligence will be enough.

 

Good luck. :001_smile: