Stages of Art in Early Childhood

The moment they pick up a drawing tool, children begin the first in a series of art stages they will experience. These developmental stages progress into adulthood, with five stages occurring in early childhood. There are general age guidelines for each stage, but these can vary greatly depending on the individual child. At times, children may seem to be in between stages as they move from one to the next.

  1. Basic Scribbling

    • Starting around age 2 or 3, children begin to randomly scribble. Developing the ability to scribble is necessary for improving hand and eye coordination, which is vital for developing visual perception. Children in this stage manipulate, explore and experiment with a variety of drawing tools; they are usually pleased as they discover all the possibilities. The length of the random scribbling stage is determined by parent and teacher encouragement, as well as the child's health, intelligence, coordination, muscle development and the frequency of scribbling opportunities.

    Controlled Scribbling

    • The introduction of circles, squares, ovals, triangles and other shapes marks the start of controlled scribbling, the second stage of art development, which usually begins between ages 2 and 4. Children will attempt to organize their drawing as they gain muscle control. They may mix an assortment of circular patterns with rippling and wavy lines.

    Named Scribbling

    • Children generally move into the third stage of art development between the ages of 3 and 5. Named scribbling is characterized by a child's ability to name the objects she draws. In this stage, it's the act of naming that's important. The objects may be unrecognizable to adults, but the child can easily identify them. Various shapes from the environment start to appear in children's drawings as they get ready for the next stage; exposing children to many new experiences aids this process.

    Symbols

    • Between the ages of 5 and 7, children will begin to portray abstract concepts in their drawings. They begin to realize that their thoughts can be drawn on paper as symbols. Children may draw how they feel instead of how things look. Objects may be drawn distorted, enlarged and changed according to their perceived importance by the child.

    Pictures

    • In this stage children begin to tell stories through their picture drawing. This usually begins between the ages of 5 and 7, following the symbol stage. The stage is marked by the appearance of a baseline; for example, ground is drawn on the bottom of a picture with the sky above it. If an object can't be seen because it's behind something, the child may draw it nearby. A bed, for example, may be drawn outside of the house. Landscapes are drawn carefully, giving the sense that removing an object might throw the entire picture off balance. Children begin to draw real legs, arms and facial features on their people instead of simple circle faces with stick bodies. Color is employed to express feelings instead of as a realistic depiction.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • Effects on Children Whose Parent Is a Pathological Liar
      Pathological lying is not an official medical diagnosis, yet the term is often used to describe people who exhibit excessive and compulsive lying on a regular basis. Parents who are referred to as pathological liars may suffer from additional mental
    • Signs of an Emotional Problem in a Child
      Children develop emotional problems for a number of reasons. These reasons may include abuse in the home, a traumatic experience or mental illness. Emotional problems may manifest themselves in infancy, childhood or adolescence. As children grow, the
    • Books on Stars for Kids
      Most people learn the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at a very young age. Although children may stop singing the tune, a lot of kids never lose their interest in those lights in the sky. Kids are interested in the composition, develop