Drawing With Children: Lesson 2

Last week I started a series of drawing lessons using Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes. I am adapting her lessons to help children learn to draw in their nature journals. If you missed last week's lesson, click here for Lesson One. This week we will tackle lesson two.

Lesson 2, pages 80-115 Drawing from Graphics

Work through the lesson as outlined in the book. Make sure to use the proper level for your child.

Application for using in your nature journals:
1. Page 90 in the “Where to start” section: Make sure to point out that when you draw flowers you will normally start at the center, with plants start with the stem, and when drawing a living creature start drawing with the eyes.

2. Using Figure 2-10 on page 91, practice drawing leaves with your thick and thin markers. Make sure to follow the suggestions in the paragraph titled, “Using thick and thin line”.

3. After working through the appropriate level in this lesson, go on to the section titled, “Choosing Other Projects” on page 112. Pay particular attention to the drawing sequence on page 114. Look for ideas for practicing the skills you learned in this lesson on your nature walk. If you can take a photograph of a scene or subject and then look at it on your computer or print it out, you will have a custom project to add to your nature journal. You could also use calendars, magazines, or field guides to help you with your project.

Challenge yourself to draw one object in each of the following categories:
1. Tree
2. Flower
3. Animal
4. Insect
5. Bird
Look through the colored illustrations in the middle of the book for some ideas of what other children have done for each of these categories.

Don’t worry that this lesson takes some practice before you feel that you are ready to move on. I think all artists work through all the skills introduced in this section of the book. I like to think of this as a work in progress even after all my years of drawing.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom