Drawing and Math: The Hidden Link for Young Kids

Drawing and math share the same building blocks. When kids draw, they work with shapes, compare sizes, count parts, make things symmetrical and divide space, which are the foundations of early geometry and number sense.

Many children who say they are "bad at math" are perfectly happy to spend an hour drawing. That is good news, because drawing is quietly giving them math practice the whole time.

Where math hides in a drawing

Look at almost any cartoon and you will find math:

• Shapes. Heads are circles or ovals, bodies are rectangles, ears are triangles.
• Counting. Three spikes on a dinosaur's back, four legs, two eyes, ten toes.
• Symmetry. A face usually looks the same on both sides of the nose.
• Fractions. "The head is about half the size of the body."
• Measurement. Comparing lengths to make a tail long enough.
• Coordinates. In grid drawing, every square has a row and column, like a graph.

None of these feel like math to a child holding a pencil. They feel like making a dinosaur look right.

Grid drawing: a coordinate plane in disguise

Grid drawing is the most math-like way to draw. The original picture sits on a grid of squares; the child copies it square by square onto an empty grid. To do that, they need to keep track of rows and columns, notice where a line crosses the edge of a square and estimate how far along it goes.

That is exactly the kind of thinking used to plot points on a graph later. Draw by Grid: Cartoon Dinosaurs is a fun way in, because dinosaurs have big, simple shapes that look impressive when they appear one square at a time.

Math drawing games to try

• Shape monsters. Roll a die. Draw that many triangles and turn them into a monster.
• Double it. Draw a small house, then try to draw one twice as tall.
• Symmetry butterflies. Draw half a butterfly along a fold, then copy the other side.
• Count and draw. Ask for "a robot with five buttons, three antennas and two wheels."
• Fraction pizza. Draw a pizza and cut it into halves, quarters and eighths with toppings on each piece.

Does drawing actually improve math scores?

It is honest to say that drawing is not a shortcut to better test scores. What drawing does is give kids lots of relaxed practice with shape, number and space, and help them feel that they can work things out. Teachers often use drawing to help kids picture word problems, which you can read about in draw the problem.

For the child who loves drawing but avoids math

If your child lights up when drawing and groans at homework, build a bridge. Ask them to draw the problem before solving it. Let them count dinosaur spikes for addition practice. Point out the shapes they used in their last drawing. Math feels less scary when it is attached to something they are proud of.

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