I would just ignore this evaluation. The stick figure idea probably came from psychological/developmental milestones. There is one aspect of evaluation that counts how much detail is in a child's drawing of a person. this is mostly relevant to pre-schoolers. If your daughter is normal in her intellectual development, don't bother.

Creativity and artistic ability are incredibly variable and subjective. And kids who are truly creative, are less likely to perform on cue. But most people don't understand creativity and/or are threatened by it.

Let your daughter explore various media at her own pace. Encourage her efforts. Don't ever let her think that there's a right or wrong way to do art.

Having said that, it is possible to teach even very untalented people how to draw pretty realistically. But I assume that is not your goal, and also I assume that this school wouldn't even know where to begin to do it. If your daughter shows an interest in drawing certain things or styles, like cartoons or manga, then you can buy her some paperback books that she can copy.

I would ignore the evaluation. Sure schools try to achieve certain benchmarks but evaluating a child on his muscial or artistic abilities is absurd. The moment we tell a child to colour within the lines, we already curb his free mind! On the scale of 1-10, this issue (which really is a non-issue) will be 2 to me!

I agree with the other posters and ignore the evaluation. Some kids are very detailed-oriented and will color in the lines, and add as many features to a human drawing as they can; others are happy with just the bare basics.

Just for fun, ask the teacher to draw a likeness of a person, or a self-portrait, and tell her you're going to grade it. :)

Having three very different boys, I know that each report card sometimes feels like a "report" on my parenting abilities, so I have a lot of sympathy with this. In my (youngest) son's 3rd grade report card, we were told that he's still writing like a kindergartner. At first, we were aghast that the way he was writing was being "judged" like that, then we realized that his handwriting could be an objective evaluation of a part of his whole development. Perhaps pointing out the stick figure drawings was not meant to be a criticism of your child's talent, but a marker on the scale of what should be showing up developmentally. My third grader still doesn't know how to tie his shoes, but he can recite the Preamble to the Constitution.

I still can't draw much more than a stick figure. I wouldn't worry about it much if your daughter is doing fine in other areas. The teachers may have concerns about her fine motor skills, but is this affecting her writing or is that just fine? Does she have difficulty with other writing related tasks such as coloring in the lines or drawing things other than people? I don't think the teachers are trying to stifle her creativity, they are just looking at things from a developmental perspective, not a creative perspective. As I said I can't draw much more than a stick figure but do have very nice handwriting. On the other hand, my husband and son can draw very well but you can't read half of what they write.

I don't think this developmental evaluation had anything to do with suppressing your child's expression. I don't think you should ignore this evaluation either. Rather, as a caring/concerned parent reasses this area of your child's development. I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with drawing stick figures. They are cute, simple, and they get to the point, but I think that when you repeatedly see this same pattern of drawing from a developing child, you have to wonder if perhaps they don't notice the details (a developmental delay). As her mom have you noticed your child ever draw figures that are more detailed than stick figures? Take what you know about your child's abillity to identify detailed human body parts (e.g. nails, eyebrows, nostrils, etc.) and ask your child's teacher if all of the human depictions in her work are always "stick figures'? Should it be a developmental delay, don't lose sleep over it, just be aware and whenever possible discuss details in her human drawings. Make a game of it, this might help bring about awareness and thus develope this area. Most importantly, keep in mind that not all kids develope in all areas at the same rate. I'm sure she'll do fine...I know because my child got a similar evaluation about eight years ago and today he's doing fine notices all of the details and then some... : )

I am a college art instructor and artist and I must respond to your comment about Picasso. He was a trained artist who at 16 could paint an academic portrait as realistic as any you've seen. Few people outside of art realize this because they don't bother to dig deeper, just reiterate the same old stereotype. Picasso was a genius who was very much a part of the artistic upheavals of the late 19th century. Yes, the Impressionists broke with tradition, buy they were also from that tradition....Degas was a remarkable draftsman, Van Gogh copied Millet....there's an old saying in art that you learn the rules so you can break them. As someone who taught children art for many years, many children will regard art as more than play time, or "fun" if they are shown that there is more to it than just "expressing one's self. I once taught perspective and spatial drawing to a group of 9 to 12 year olds and they loved it! It opened up there eyes about how to create a sense of space and distance. All of the Disney classics were created by animators who were VERY skilled artists and draftsmen. It is far past the time for us to start treating visual art as more than just the fun class in elementary school and imparting a healthy respect and admiration for what artists do. As the great Graphic Artist Milton Glaser (creator of I heart NY), once said....."art is work". And yes, it's fun too.....sometimes.

My daughters are creative in different ways. My older daughter can draw like her dad..pretty much anything she tries, but when she tries to sing, she can't carry much of a tune. My younger daughter works very hard to draw even a fraction of how her sister draws, but she's lucky to get much more than stick figures. She can sing most anything though.

I've always encouraged them to express themselves in any healthy way possible. The fact that my older daughter almost makes me cringe when she tries to hit a high note (not done on the outside of course..lol), doesn't stop her and I wouldn't want it too. They both love to do what they do and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wouldn't worry about this evaluation. Just continue to encourage your daughter to express herself. Remember, back in our parents day, they thought left handed people were retarded (a fact I found out from my grandmother). Both of my parents were left handed, as are my husband and I. Everyone is different, and it should be celebrated, not condemned.

its also a fact that left handed people are smarter!!! and most of our U.S.PRESIDENTS where left handed. as well as most of the billionaires in the world!!! that is a fact that you can research also!!! hang in there i have a daughter also, and she is very expressive and VERY CREATIVE!!!

Art is much like beauty as that it's in the eye of the beholder.

I am an artist and have been in classes of different levels, and seen schools graded differently, even now with my kids. However, the most common thought now, with kids especially, is that art is not graded by the same rules as the other subjects. While it's also not a recess with a crayon type of class, it's meant nowadays to stimulate the child's creative processes.

My daughter didn't draw anything *but* stick figures until 3rd grade, when she finally began drawing simple landscapes, and now with an easy and short book about learning how to draw that I purchased her at the art store, she's been drawing very well. She's 11 now and has been drawing well for a couple of years.

I'd bet your daughter will come around in her own time frame.