Mookmik30 easy drawing ideas for 3- to 5-year-olds
Stuck for ideas? Here are 30 simple things to draw, grouped by theme, from sea creatures to silly monsters. No drawing skills needed, for them or for you.
"What should I draw?" is one of the most common questions at the drawing table. Here are 30 ideas to keep handy. Read a few out loud, let your child pick one, and don't worry about how it turns out. A rocket that looks like a carrot is still a great rocket.
Big, simple shapes are easiest at this age. Show how a circle can become a face, a sun or a fish, and how a triangle can become a roof, a sail or a dinosaur's spike.
Under the sea
- A fish with stripes or spots
- An octopus waving all eight arms
- A crab with big claws
- A whale blowing water
- A jellyfish with wiggly legs
Up in space
- A rocket with flames
- A friendly alien
- A planet with rings
- An astronaut floating
- A moon with a sleepy face
Dinosaurs and dragons
- A T. rex with tiny arms
- A long-neck dinosaur eating leaves
- A baby dinosaur hatching from an egg
- A dragon breathing fire
- A dinosaur wearing a hat
Things that go
- A car in your favourite colour
- A big yellow bus
- A train with lots of carriages
- A sailboat on the waves
- A flying car
Animal friends
- A cat with long whiskers
- A dog chasing a ball
- A butterfly with patterned wings
- A snail with a curly shell
- An owl at night
Silly and magical
- A monster with five eyes
- A robot made of squares
- A unicorn with a rainbow mane
- A snowman on holiday
- A cupcake with arms and legs
Turn a drawing into a story
When the drawing is done, ask a question or two. What's its name? What does it like to eat? Where does it live? Who are its friends? Questions like these turn one drawing into a story, and very often into the next drawing too.
If your child gets stuck halfway, our article on what to say when a child says "I can't draw" has a few ways to get going again.
Bring the drawings to life
Every idea on this list would feel at home in one of Mookmik World's painted worlds: fish and octopuses in the Aquarium, rockets in Space, dinosaurs in Dino Valley. Inside each world, Pip suggests picture ideas too, shown as pictures rather than words, so children who can't read yet still know what to draw next.
Mookmik World
