Heart and Soul Pursuits: Learning to draw

Teacher Talk - Grade One

Drawing with little people is so fun. They don't have preconceived ideas about how things should look. They don't over evaluate their work and are proud as punch when they are done. I love that I get to encourage creativity at its best - colour, style, freedom, possibilities, purpose ... and yes, this is my real every day life, it doesn't get better than this!

This term in Grade One we have been learning about farms and micro habitats. Just for fun we had a go at drawing a few farm animals to develop our artistic skills.

Drawing a cow seemed like a good place to start. I showed my students how to follow the step by step instructions on the media screen in the classroom and then I had a go on the whiteboard, showing them how easy it was. They loved how simple it was to add detail one step at a time. Not so overwhelming when we can break it all down into bite size pieces. (Even for me!!!)

Step by step tutorial here

My students were rather impressed with their efforts. I loved seeing the awe on their faces as they discovered that they can draw better than they at first imagined. Their little faces deep in concentration were a delight to behold. I encouraged their efforts, reminding them that creative ability developed with practice. My affirmations opened up the next bout of frantic scribbling as they tried to get the form they were drawing down on paper. They revelled in this ability to create, to cause something to take on shape from somewhere deep inside of them. As I watched the creativity in progress, I paused in the uncharacteristic lull of the classroom and contemplated the creative force within all of us.

How is it that such creative capacity slowly goes to sleep over time? Why do so many of us think we are not artistic ... or creative ... or imaginative, when we are born with this limitless potential?

It reminded me to purposefully embrace this way of living, teaching and being. To capture, celebrate and cherish the gift of infinite originality and unique individuality!

So, embrace the creativity that makes you uniquely individual!

Later I showed them how to use pastels to build up the colour on their drawing using a few different techniques. We began with blending two colours in the background and later added detail to the image bit by bit.

Not bad for little people ....
and below are a few more we had a go at drawing too.