The Evolution of Toddler Scribbles

Hello, friends! I haven’t written about Liam’s developmental milestones for now, I have been planning a post about it, but since he is creeping up on his 18 month mark (what?!), I figured I’ll just wait until then! Today, I wanted to share with you all something that I have been having a lot of fun doing with him lately… coloring! Well, drawing. Doodling? Whatever. Toddler scribbles, yay!

I first picked up some crayons and paper around his first birthday, with no real expectations, just to help him get used to the feeling of holding them. I initially wanted to get him some of those egg-shaped crayons, the ones that are easy for toddlers to hold, but could not find them anywhere, so I chose just to get the My First Crayola Washable Triangular Crayons. They cost about $2.99 at Target and Walmart, and I am pretty happy with them! They are non-toxic, and wash off of the table, skin, and clothing REALLY easily. They are also super smooth and pigmented on paper, so kiddo doesn’t have to struggle to make his art. I love that they don’t roll away, and always stay within his reach. The only negative thing I can say is that they do seem to break a bit easier than normal crayons when thrown. Not a big deal though, as he will still use them, and they’re cheap enough to replace. We also found some similar, cheaper, Cra-Z-Art crayons, which we also use.

Shortly after I bought his crayons, I decided that I needed a better place to store them than their flimsy, crayon box, and I just happened to have an empty coffee canister lying around! Some leftover acrylic paint, a few paper towels, and about 10 minutes of my time was all it took! I kept the lid, just in case he someday is able to reach it on the shelf.

On April 29th, two days after my birthday, after days of sitting with Liam at the table, and him watching me doodle on a piece of paper, he picked up a crayon with his left hand, and made his first good scribble. Followed by more scribbles, in more colors. He switched hands several times, and sometimes used both. I was so happy, and he seemed so amazed. And proud.

Since then, we have been trying to sit down to doodle at least once a day, every day. It is so much fun, for both of us, and I find it very relaxing for myself.

When my mom came to visit last month, I sat with Liam, and asked him if he wanted to draw a picture for his grammy’s birthday. I don’t know if he understood, but he tried his best, and spent a long time creating this beautiful thing. My mom teared up when I gave it to her, and she took it back to Maine with her. It made me happy to see that she appreciated his little doodles as much as I do.

Sometimes, he’s just not in the mood to doodle, and gives up scribbling after just a few minutes. I always know when he is done, because he will start piling all of his crayons on top of his paper. Or he’ll throw them to the floor. Either one. However… this doesn’t stop me from finishing my doodles, and when he sees that I am still using the crayons, he tries to climb back up into his chair, and I bring him up to join me again.

However, sometimes I get sad when he doesn’t want to sit and doodle with me, so I draw angry clouds and sad suns. You know, like an adult.

 

These three pictures are my favorites from June thus far, in chronological order. I am such a proud mom. His use of colors, and techniques for making “shapes”, are so amusing to watch. He has come such a long way.

These are from tonight. Liam drew a total of three (!!!) pictures during our coloring session after dinner, but this one was my favorite. He mainly uses his right hand now, but occasionally uses both. I like when he uses a lot of colors, and uses as much paper as he can. He also decided that my flower doodle needed improvements. This kid!

I’ve been hanging all of his doodles on the fridge, which is already full, even with me overlapping them. I want to buy some better paper (with no lines), and maybe have some fun with kid-friendly paint, in the near future. I also want to get a binder and plastic inserts, and put all of my favorites in the binder, in chronological order. Just a little something for him to look at when he is older. Okay, it’s for me, too. Mostly for me. I love his toddler scribbles!

Do any of you have artistic toddlers? What do you do with their artwork? What are some fun, artistic things that you have done with your little ones?

Thanks for reading, friends!

Jan

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