The Drawings of Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Case Study and Four Experiments

Abstract

A four-year longitudinal study of the drawings of a preschool boy preceded four experiments related to observations made in the longitudinal study. Participants in the experiments included preschool and kindergarten children. It was concluded that scribble patterns are a reflection of accidental motor activity, a large drawing surface allows the child to express in more detail through better use of gross motor movements, some children may have a tendency to draw a graduated series of figures from small to large or vice versa, and some children who do not include a torso in their human drawings have the capability to do so but either choose not to or do not think of doing so. Implications for art education and theories of development of children's art are discussed.