Drawing, key to learning for children from 0 to 2 years old

Drawing encourages writing, reading and creativity in children. It helps children to have more confidence in themselves and to express their feelings. Art, creativity and imagination play a vital role in children’s education.

When drawing, graphomotor skills are enhanced in younger children, as well as motor skills coordination and visual perception. Naturally, working things out mentally develops imagination and creativity, which are extremely important in both younger and older children.

As children grow, these drawings evolve. At El Valle Nursery School, Alicante we use a range of utensils for students to draw. From fine and thick wax crayons to painting using fingers and brushes. Thus, the development of fine motor skills, hand to eye coordination and the cognitive development of the child begins. From birth, children experiment with different tools and draw, touch or manipulate objects, an essential part of their development.

The first form of expression in children from 0-2-years old is random scribbling. The first strokes are usually meaningless, vary in length and direction, lack visual control, and are usually not observed by the children themselves. In our classrooms children draw on different surfaces, such as paper, black cardboard, on the table or on the floor. Together with scribbling, we begin to teach them to pick up wax crayons correctly and use tweezers, as this is the ideal time them to learn. For children from 4 to 8 months, it is advisable that they draw with finger paint and use their hands to scribble.

Little by little children will develop better visual and motor skills coordination becoming more enthusiastic about scribbling, their movements will usually vary more, and lines will be longer. At this point we move on to the controlled scribbling phase, this phase is very important because the child already has more ability to carry out work, we suggest that they practice vertical or horizontal lines. At El Valle Nursery School, Alicante we use colour games and geometric shapes that will help the students when it is time for them to start reading and writing.

Parental support for children in this stage is essential

Education is a two-way street and parents involved with their children’s education are parents with a voice, who play a central role in ensuring that their children get the education they need and deserve.

Parents should always show great interest in their children’s first drawings because the way their scribbles are greeted will have a very beneficial influence on the children’s later development.