Between television, video games, computers, and cell phones, it’s easy for children to get sucked into ever-mounting marathons of screen time. Lure them away from the screen and tap into their creativity with a set of drawing prompts. The best ones grab children’s attention and banish uncertainty, providing them the opportunity to tune their fine motor skills and spelunk through the depths of their imagination all at once. Find our top choices for inspiration below.
1. Art Drawing Games and Activities for Kids
High-energy prompts are like a favorite teacher: Not only do they entertain, but they teach even the most restless kids simple drawing concepts. Take the Drawing Hangman game, a spelling game where each wrong letter leads to a new step of drawing a snowman from a birds-eye view. Author Rachel Goldstein runs the popular drawinghowtodraw.com website, where she offers many of her inventive prompts for free.
2. Keep Creating: 365 Days of Drawing Prompts Sketchbook
Children can tell when they’re being talked down to. This sketchbook appeals to adults as much as children (especially older kids), providing a balance of whimsy and clear guidance. Keep Creating is great for a kid who wants to draw but just needs a light nudge.
3. Createures Drawing Deck
Sometimes even a book of prompts starts gathering dust on the bookshelf, whether from loss of interest or because all the pages are filled. Createures’s spin is to ditch the book and go for five decks of cards that together make a wholly unique prompt. Choose a card from each deck: a small, medium, and large animal; a habitat; and an offbeat detail (think “unicorn horn” or “steampunk”). From those disparate elements, kids have to create an entirely new creature. Chances are, they’ll soon spin off from there without any prompting at all.
4. Draw: Creative Drawing Prompts for Kids
Author Elle Simms homeschools her kids, so she knows what keeps them occupied and engaged. Her book of drawing prompts keeps things approachable and relaxed, making it perfect for a younger elementary school–aged artist. The simple pages provide a calm space for a child’s mind to run free.
5. Doodle Book Junior: 101 Creative Prompts for Kids
Doodle Book Junior is the little sister to therapist and life coach Carin Channing’s doodle book for adults. Channing is a proponent of rest and creativity as therapeutic outlets, and her book of prompts for children maintains that focus on quiet, peaceful sketching for the mental health benefits.