Directed Drawing for Young Artists!-Ongoing

One of my favorite things to do, even as a child, was to draw. I still find myself doodling when I am bored. It’s been my experience that most kids fit into one of several categories when it comes to art: 1. Those who are naturally creative.  2. Those who are interested but don’t know where to start or think they can’t.  3. Those who are not interested and would rather be doing anything else.

What Are Directed Drawings?
Directed drawings are a step by step approach to drawing something. The teacher guides, or directs, students in the steps to create a drawing. 

How Do I Teach Directed Drawings?
When I start a directed drawing, very rarely do I ever tell the kids what we are about to draw.  If I do, the response is usually, “I can’t draw that!”  Whereas once finished, I hear “Wow! I can’t believe I drew that!”. I use kid-friendly terms for each stroke. For instance, an under curve is a smile line and an over curve is a rainbow line. I will also show the the obvious mistakes that I anticipate they will make and how to avoid them as we go.

Why Do I Suggest Directed Drawings?
The WHY is probably the most important part. It’s been my experience that directed drawings increase the listening skills of my students. They must listen and keep up with me as I draw each part. In addition to the listening, the other obvious benefit is learning to follow directions, which also helps with letter formation. Don’t forget that drawing is FUN and we want kids to feel successful as they learn. Each drawing is unique.

What About Naysayers?
But what about the folks who say:
"But I don’t like to limit kids’ creativity and have everyone draw the SAME thing the SAME way!"
Well, my reply to that is that directed drawing lays the foundation. Kids will take what we show them and use it to draw bigger and better things. I never limit their creativity, it’s not a problem if they want to draw it a different way or add to it. I always give my students some time to add their personal touches to their drawings to make it unique to them.


During each class, learners will follow step by step instructions to create a different drawing each week. I will be giving details of what we will draw for the first few weeks but I ask parents not to tell their learners as to facilitate the "Wow! I can't believe I drew that!" factor. I like to keep this a surprise for the students to create excitement. This class is a laid back-easy going, simple art class. Students will only need to come to class with a piece of white paper, a pencil, black marker, and crayons. It is for beginner artists and no prior experience is necessary. Once we finish the steps to our drawing, we will color and share our masterpieces! 

WEEKLY TOPICS:

1. Week of 11/20/22: Turkey
2. Week of 11/27/22: Owl
3. Week of 12/4/22: Penguin
4. Week of 12/11/22: Santa
5. Week of 12/18/22: Reindeer
**WEEK OF CHRISTMAS WILL BE SKIPPED**
6. Week of 1/1/22: Walrus
7. Week of 1/8/22: Elephant
8. Week of 1/15/22:  Panda


The content learned in class does not build week over week, therefore, if your student misses a week or enrolls late they will not be behind in the following classes. Learners in class are able to join and leave at any time.