Invitation to Draw

My son has recently started to show more of an ability to draw with purpose (instead of just lines and squiggles). Giving him something to start his picture with really helped to spark his imagination and encouraged him to draw with accuracy.

Using pictures as an invitation to draw.

What you need:

- white paper

- marker pens, colouring pencils, crayons or paints

- a picture that will inspire your child (in this case trains)

How it works:

This is such a quick and easy activity to set up (great while dinner is being cooked). Simply find some pictures of something that will inspire your child. For my son this can be only one thing..... trains. I found some old train magazines and cut out three different pictures and stuck each on a piece of white paper. I then let my son choose his favourite one (I always find giving my son ownership of his artwork by letting him have a choice helps increase his motivation). Once he chose the picture he wanted I asked him to describe what he saw and then asked him what he could add to the scene. He came up with ideas like adding train tracks, a station, more carriages, some grass, the sun and the moon.

Adding train tracks.

Drawing the sun and moon in the sky.

Very proud of his picture.

It was great to see him using his imagination to make such a fun scene all to do with his love of trains. I now have a pile of invitation to draw pictures in the cupboard that my son enjoys helping himself to and doing independently.