Drawing and Critical Thinking: Kids Asking Why
Drawing mash-up creatures makes kids ask why and what if. See how drawing builds critical thinking, decision making and reasoning in children.
Drawing builds critical thinking because every picture is a series of decisions. Kids ask what works, what does not, why a part looks wrong and how to fix it. Inventing creatures adds another layer: they have to reason about how their creation would live, move and survive.
Critical thinking is the ability to question, analyze and make reasoned decisions. It is one of the skills employers and teachers say matters most, and it starts early, every time a child asks "Why?"
Decisions on every page
Even a simple drawing involves judgement: Is the head too big? Does that arm look strange? What would make it look faster? A child who steps back, notices a problem and changes the drawing is thinking critically. They are evaluating their own work and choosing a better option.
Mutant animals: a reasoning workout
Mash-up animals are a fantastic critical thinking exercise. How to Draw: Mutant Animals features weird mash-ups that older kids love. After drawing one, ask questions that need reasons, not just answers:
- Where would this animal live? Why?
- What would it eat? How would it catch its food?
- What is its biggest advantage? Its weakness?
- Which animal would it be friends with?
Kids have to use what they know about real animals to argue for their answers.
Critical thinking prompts for any drawing
- "What is working in this drawing? What would you change?"
- "Why did you choose those colors?"
- "If you drew it again, what would you do differently?"
- "Which of your two versions do you like better, and why?"
Compare and evaluate
Ask your child to draw the same character twice in two different ways, then decide which is better and explain why. There is no right answer, but there are good reasons. Learning to explain a choice is the heart of critical thinking.
Thinking about the art they see
Critical thinking also applies to looking at art. Look at a cartoon together and ask how the artist made a character look scary, sad or funny. Kids start noticing techniques, which helps them use those techniques themselves. For a closely related skill, see problem solving through drawing.
Questions parents ask
How does drawing develop critical thinking?
Drawing requires constant decisions about shape, size and placement, plus evaluating whether a drawing works and how to improve it. That cycle of question, judge and adjust is critical thinking.
What questions encourage critical thinking about art?
Ask what is working, what they would change, why they made a choice, and how they would do it differently next time.
Are imaginative creatures good for thinking skills?
Yes. Designing creatures asks kids to reason about habitats, food and survival using what they know about real animals.
More in brain and learning, or browse all 217 posts on the blog.
Keep reading
- What Happens in a Child's Brain When They DrawWhat happens in the brain when children draw? A plain-English guide to how drawing connects seeing, thinking, moving and feeling as kids grow.
- Can Drawing Stretch a Short Attention Span?Short attention span? Drawing can help kids practise focus in small, satisfying chunks. Try these tips for building attention one drawing at a time.
- Drawing and Working Memory: Holding a Picture in MindWorking memory lets kids hold information in mind while they use it. Learn how grid drawing exercises it and why that helps with school tasks.
- Shading for Kids: Light, Dark and Making Drawings PopShading makes drawings pop. Teach kids light and dark with simple shading games, then try it on robot dinosaurs drawn square by square.
