The Discovery Of The Child

DRAWING AND REPRESENTATIVE ART 345

-emphasize the point, in order that I jnay be clearly understood,
that the proceedings which I describe form only one of the factors
in the analysis of writing.

We have stated that our children do not produce of their own
accord, which is left free, those dreadful drawings which are dis-
played and lauded in modern schools of advanced ideas. They,
however, draw ornaments and figures which are much clearer and
more harmonious than those strange daubs of the so-called " free
drawing," where the child has to explain what he intends to
represent by his incomprehensible attempts. We do not give
lessons in drawing or in modelling, and yet many children are
able to draw flowers, birds, scenes and even imaginary sketches
in an admirable manner. Very frequently it is noticed that our
children adorn with drawings even their pages of writing and
arithmetic, sometimes adding to a page of numerical operations
the figure of a child writing, or surrounding the page with fantastic
ornamentation. Even the geometrical drawings sometimes become
frames for figures, or tHe outline of the geometrical figure is garnished
with ornamental drawings,

It must then be concluded that the preparation of the hand
and of the senses gives natural aid not only to writing but also to
expressive drawing.

We do not teach drawing by drawing, however, but by
providing the opportunity to prepare the instruments of expression.
This I consider to be a real aid to free drawing, which, not being
dreadful and incomprehensible, encourages the child to continue.

Another form of assistance is that which we give to every
Icind of learning: the analysis of difficulties, or the analysis into
components. In drawing itself there are various elements, such
as outline and colour. Now for these two items, there is offered the
tracing of the outlines of the insets and filling the drawings by means
of lines, which prepare the hand for steady muscular exertion.
For colour, we provide paint-brushes and water-colours, with which
it is possible to represent drawings even without having an outline
prepared. We give pastels also, and show how to use them.