Observational Drawings of Tulips

We began our Morning Meeting admiring beautiful tulips that Paula brought in from home. We looked at the flowers closely and the children had the opportunity to identify the parts of the flower that were familiar to them. Several of the children identified the stem, leaves , and petals of the tulip. The parts of the flower in the center of the tulip were unfamiliar to the children and we decided to do further research to find our more about the parts of a flower...

We placed the flowers in our studio and asked the children to create an observational drawing of the tulips. The children were asked to look very intentionally at the flowers and to draw the interesting features they saw. Observational drawings support many important areas of development for children. For young children , learning to "draw what you see" can provide important tools for communications, understanding and documentation. Creating observational drawing are especially useful for children who have not yet learned to write. Through these experiences children practice visual discrimination skills, fine motor skills, and spatial awareness.