I try to maximize on the exuberance children exude as Halloween approaches. The late Stanley Greenspan said, “Kids need to become emotionally involved to learn.” No better way to teach challenging skills and concepts than wrapping them in a cloak (no dagger) of intrigue, a touch of “scary” and fun!
So I teach kids to draw Scary Cats. This incorporates an understanding of:
- Shapes and how they go together (spatial reasoning)
- Knowing how to draw the specific shapes approximately to scale
- Good control of the writing tool (e.g. pencil)
- Visual Attention
- Developing understanding of spatial relationships
Target audience:
- Kindergarten with structure/assistance
- Elementary grades
Equipment:
- Paper
- Pencil (Important to be able to erase)
- Markers or other colors (to use after initial pencil sketch is completed)
- Can substitute cut out shapes (scissors & glue) to assemble into picture
Directions:
It is important to emphasize the correct direction to draw all of the shapes