Stages of Young Children’s Art
by W. Lambert Brittain
Stage One: Random Scribbling–age one to two or two and a half. The drawing tool is held a dis rarely taken from the paper. It may be held like a hammer at times. Lines are made with simple arm movements, the swing of the arm back and forth determining the direction and length of the lines. The child watches what he or she is doing, watching to follow and enjoy the lines rather than control them.
Stage Two: Controlled Scribbling–age two to three or three and a half. The wrist is more flexible than in stage one. There is a wider range of scribbles and more intricate patterns of loops. The child makes the tool go across the page as desired.
Stage Three: Names Scribbling–age three and a half to four or four and a half. The naming of scribbles illustrates an important step toward the development of abstract thought. Lines become symbols that stand for things.
Stage Four: Early Representational–age four years plus. The child can reproduce a symbol for an object though not a likeness. Representations have little in common with what adults consider the real world. The child does not seem to be attempting a photographic likeness. What adults see as distortions are not distortions to the child.
Stage Five: Preschematic Drawing–age five years plus. Now there is a right-side-up and a line for the sky and ground. Relative sizes of objects begin to be portrayed. Objects and people are painted.
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