‘The teacher ruined my drawing! She put all these letters on it!’.
The child ran across the playground to his mother, clearly angry. The four-year-old had put so much effort into the drawing, and during break time, the teacher had ‘put letters on it’. The teacher had meant well. Ruined, that was certainly not the intention. She thought it would be nice to write on it for the parents and ‘for later’ what was drawn…
Many daycare workers and teachers of children up to about six years old recognize this. A child has drawn attentively. Their heart and soul are poured into the artwork. You’ve seen them working on it.
You tidy up the drawing, or the child brings it to you, you look at it and think: ‘hmm… what could it be…’. You turn the drawing a few times, give the child a compliment (whether or not you should give a child a compliment and, if so, how to do it best, I’ll tell you in another blog). Then you ask: ‘what did you draw?’ The child tells you vividly what they drew, it’s clear that they can see it all in their mind. You enjoy what they tell you and decide to write it down on their drawing. Nice for mum and dad. ‘What’s this?’ A car. ‘And that?’ That’s mum. This goes on for a while. Words appear on the page next to various scribbles and figures. Yours. Writing on the front of a drawing is not a good idea in my opinion. Below, I’ll tell you why.
4 Reasons Why You Should NOT Write on Drawings:
- With young children up to 4 years old, their inner image changes frequently. What they imagine in their heads is not always lasting. They cannot hold onto the picture sufficiently. What they draw today might be something else tomorrow. One day it’s the neighbor, the next day it’s mum. You take away children’s chances for a new story when you record it.
- Writing is mainly for the adult, to have a reference and recognition. It’s often something we want to do for the parents so they know what the child has drawn at school or daycare. It stems from curiosity and the need for structure and organization but has little added value when you consider that the story of the young child is often still ‘flexible’ and the story is different for the child by evening. It’s also confusing when someone then says, ‘but this was supposed to be a…?’.
- It’s not necessarily about WHAT the child has drawn but also about HOW. With young children, it’s much more interesting to see how they use lines, dynamics, and colors. Which basic shapes are recognizable, and what does that say about the child’s developmental stage? How did the drawing come about, and what does that say about the child’s personal characteristics? Where can we support and encourage them? This information is very valuable for parents, daycare workers, and teachers to support a child in their development.
- Children don’t always like it. I remember well how a child ran to his mother on the school playground and angrily shouted, ‘the teacher ruined my drawing! She put all these letters on it!’ Remember that it’s the child’s drawing, not yours.
Do you want to convey something to the parents about what the child has drawn?
– Do this only if the child asks for it themselves. Sometimes it’s very important for a child to be understood well and they want it to be written down what it is; this is immediately a focus point for you: what makes it so important that the child wants this to be clear? And: who do they want to be understood by extra?
– When the child does it themselves, it’s perfectly fine of course.
– Ask yourself if writing the name necessarily has to be on the front or if it can also be on the back. Give children the choice: ‘write your name on the drawing, you can choose whether you want it on the front or back’. Ask what the child wants: ‘should I write your name on the front or back?’
– Some stories behind drawings are too good not to share with parents. It’s fine if you want to let parents know what their child has drawn or said; then write it on the back of the drawing.