The four stages of creative development Scribbling stage: This stage begins around 2 years old, when a child starts scribbling on paper indistinct shapes and marks. Pre-schematic stage: Beginning around age 4, children start drawing shapes with rudimentary faces. They draw self-portraits with big smiles, using random colors. Schematic stage: Around 7 years old, the child starts to develop concrete symbols for people and objects. In addition to faces, human figures now have body parts such as arms and legs. Realistic stage: Around 9 years old, more details are added and kids learn about perspective. Shapes now have shadows, and colors accurately reflect the environment around them.

While young children may choose colors randomly in their art, research shows that different colors impact learning and memory. Keep this in mind when working with kids on their art projects.

Blue enhances creativity and promotes relaxation. Red evokes strong feelings of threat and love and can stimulate the senses. When used in combination with other colors, it can help in repetitive or detail-oriented tasks. Yellow stimulates intelligence and is the color of happiness and sunshine for children. Green is the color of abundance and can contribute to better health in children by relaxing them. Pink calms and lowers heart rate. Purple is an attention-grabbing color. Orange enhances critical thinking and memory.