I've rounded up some of our favorite drawing prompts which can help to inject some interest into basic paper and marker invitations.
A few tips...
Before we get started I thought I'd share a few tips for setting up drawing prompts. I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old. My toddler loves to draw and color but my 6 year old is less excited by it. For this reason I have always found that basing the drawing prompt on an area he is interested in, or making it funny, helps to capture his interest. I would also recommend using trays or a set creating area to help keep focus going for longer. Finally, make sure you supply some extra paper after as my kids always think it is super fun to make their own drawing prompts for me to do and this extends the activity nicely.
Picture Frames
My kids love this one and I really like it because it fascinates me to see how differently they get creative with the set up. Simply draw a series of picture frame shapes on paper and challenge your kids to fill the frames.
As you can see here, baby sis decided to focus her efforts on coloring and decorating the frames. Meanwhile big bro opted to create superhero scenes in the frames.
Both kids were equally engaged and happy, and lots of fun conversation was prompted as they made their drawings.
Mini Books
We often use this set up as a busy bag when we are out and about, but it will work perfectly well at home too. Use a piece of paper to create an 8 page mini book. You can see how to do this over on @teacher_types.
Older kids will enjoy the novelty of making a small drawing and adding a few words to each page, whilst younger ones will busily flick through the pages adding markings. Both kids thought they were pretty cool to have made their own books and enjoyed 'reading' them to us at story time.
Use a Unique Canvas
Sometimes kids will see the markers and paper and immediately not want to engage. One way I like to combat this is to simply change up the canvas we are creating on. This can be as simple as drawing on a different color piece of paper. My kids love using metallic pens or even a white crayon on black paper.
In the past we have also enjoyed drawing on cardboard, whether it be a small piece or an entire cardboard box, as well as tin foil. Other ideas include using a dry erase board, or if you trust your kids enough, you can stick a large piece of paper on the wall for a vertical canvas.
Book Inspired Art
Using children's books to inspire drawing and coloring can be a fun way to get your kids more engaged. Having pictures in front of them to help spark ideas sometimes really helps my kids to enjoy the process more.
We often start off by reading the book and discussing the illustrations. Above you can see baby sis decorating her own pants after we read Penny and the Pineapple Pants. Below both kids are enjoying decorating a shoe each for Pete the Cat to wear. The prompts are very simple but having them linked to a book brings some familiarity and fun to the project.
Folded Drawings
I can remember doing this as a kid and I had just as much fun with it when I did it with my 6 yr old! Simply fold a piece of paper into sections, we did four, and then take it in turns to draw different parts of a body on each section. Be sure to add little markings over the beginning of the next section so that it lines up.
My son got such a kick out of seeing the 'person' created when he unfolded the drawing each time!
Live Art
Why not be part of your own art?! My kids thought this one was hilarious and it was fun that baby sis was able to join in even though she was only 18 months at the time.
Simply cut out the middle section of a piece of paper and ask your kids to decorate the frame. My kids just enjoyed coloring the frame, but you could even make it into a theme like an astronaut or a princess. Once done, get your kids to poke their faces through the gap to become a 'live painting'. Big bro totally nailed the Mona Lisa effect!
Invitation to Make a Comic Strip
Draw some boxes, and set out some stickers and drawing materials ready for comic strip creating.
I always find it helps to provide options in terms of materials, hence the tray of varied stickers and markers. My son was about 4 when he created this one.
Large Collaborative Invitations
If you have large paper available to you it can be fun to make a big invitation to create. Often the larger scale will be a novelty factor for your kids and will encourage them to work together.
I set this invitation to decorate a claw up for Halloween and it was fun to see both kids so into it. You could also have fun with decorating faces, hats, t-shirts etc. in the same way.
Draw a City
My son was vehicle mad as a youngster so this is a set up we did frequently. Team up some cars with pens and a whiteboard (or paper) and challenge your kiddo to make a city for the vehicles. He enjoyed drawing roads, buildings, trees, shops and so much more. The great thing about this one is that they then have a fun play surface for lots of imaginary adventures after.
I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration to freshen up your creative set ups. It always fascinates me how simply providing my kids with a little prompt makes the difference between a successful fully engaged session of creating, and a fleeting scribble and 'I'm done'.
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