Parents often ask me how children make these detailed drawings at school while drawings at home might be comprised of two dots, a smile and a circle. The answer is observational drawing. While I do not have an end goal of representational art, I do prolong the looking process in an effort to bypass our cognitive tendency to simplify experience for the sake of expedience into perceptual constructs. (The image above shows a child's first self portrait and the following portrait illustrates the effect of active looking and observational drawing support). We use drawing as a tool to connect children with the object of their observation. In so doing their ability to perceive and experience the world through the senses is cultivated. The motto is "Slow Down" and observational drawing encourages this mindful approach to looking.
This process is supported throughout your child's time here at Children's Garden.
It is also supported in classrooms by the teachers who support active looking in order to communicate what is observed via creative media.
And it's FUN! You can try this at home too! Just get yourself a small journal and take a walk...find an object that engages your sense of wonder and spend some time looking. Allow your hand to communicate to the paper what is seen. The critic will have to stay home on this journey! Creative expression can be a portal into the moment and a wonderful opportunity to SLOW DOWN and see the world anew.
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