Creativity is the very root of our ability to learn, to cope, and to become whatever we may be.

The fourth-grade teacher's assignment for her students was to draw "anything." One of the girls drew a tree with an elaborate root structure, many branches, and a nest. When her teacher saw her drawing, she said, "Oh, another tree? It seems that you always draw trees. How about something different for a change?"

Drawing What's Inside of Us

That teacher was trying to encourage "creativity" by suggesting making something new, experimental, or original. For children, however, an opportunity to draw "anything" is an invitation to express whatever is important to them at the moment, and even if they use the same symbols (like trees) over and over again, children are being creative by bringing something from inside themselves ...something of who they are right then and there.

For some children, an assignment of "draw anything" is welcomed because they're clear about the symbols they like to use. For other children, though, "draw anything" might make them feel more stymied than stimulated. Many of us are intimidated by a blank piece of paper and no direction. It can be helpful to suggest making a picture about "something that makes you feel peaceful" or "a favorite place" or a "terrible day.

However children might be using their drawings, it isn't necessary for us to analyze or interpret what they express through a particular scene or symbol. What's important is that we respect anything they draw, because it comes from inside their heads and their hearts, and it's important to them.

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