Drawing Dragons

One of Samuel’s favorite activities to do is draw dragons. This all started when we watched “How to Train Your Dragon,” one of my favorite movies, for the first time at a friend’s house. I love sharing my interests with Samuel and I think he can tell when I really like something, so he knew right away we were enjoying something special together. We decided to read the original books by Cressida Cowell next, which are humorous and include some very likeable characters. (I do edit them slightly as I read them because they’re written for someone a little older than Samuel. I also omit most mentions of Thor, but sometimes I leave one in just to hear Samuel say, “He’s not real!”)

Samuel’s fine motor skills have improved exponentially since he started drawing all these dragons. A few months ago, he could barely color in the lines of a picture. Now, he can color almost as well as I can! He’s careful, thoughtful, and meticulous. I like seeing his creativity and imagination blossom as he creates one new dragon species after another, complete with new names, abilities, and colors. We’ve also had some good conversations while we color together. Samuel tends to think better when he’s moving, just like me, so we process ideas together as we draw.

Here are a few samples of Samuel’s dragons:

I set the next dragon as the ‘featured image’ of this post. I drew the outline, and Samuel colored in the rest. His excellent choices in color always improve my dragons and make them look more fun.

Here’s what happens when he doesn’t help me:

So creepy! I would not want to meet up with this terrifying fellow in a swamp.

Would you?!