First grade: whole animals and favourite things
Drawing ideas for 6 year olds
Step-by-step drawings for six-year-olds and first graders: whole animals, vehicles, food and the first fantasy creatures, all eleven steps or so.
At six, children can follow a twelve-step lesson start to finish and they care about the result, the dog should look like a dog. These lessons deliver that: a head, a body, legs and a tail, each one its own step, and the guide lines rubbed out at the end so the drawing looks clean. Vehicles and food are big hits at this age, and the first dragon or unicorn is usually a six-year-old’s idea.
Most first-grade drawing ideas are also good directed drawing lessons for the classroom; the directed drawing page has the routine.
Animals with bodies
Things that go
Favourite things
Tips for drawing with 6 year olds
- Light first, dark later: a soft pencil for the guide shapes, a marker only at the very end.
- If the drawing goes wrong halfway, start a new sheet rather than erasing a lot, six-year-olds lose heart at rubbing out.
- Let them choose the colours. The colour hints at the end are suggestions, not rules.
Questions parents and teachers ask
What are good 1st grade drawing ideas?
Whole animals (cat, dog, penguin, owl), vehicles (school bus, fire truck), food and seasonal pictures. Each of those above is an eleven- to thirteen-step lesson that fits a class period.
What can a 6 year old draw?
Recognisable animals with bodies, people with clothes, houses with windows and doors, and simple scenes. They can follow twelve steps without help.