Historical, Culturally Diverse, Standards-Based Art Lessons to Inspire Young Artists

(949) 215-1064

Meet the Masters
  • 35 Artist Units
  • How It Works
  • 🖼️ Gallery
  • Jobs
  • About Us
    • About Meet The Masters
    • 😊 Testimonials
    • Standards-Based
    • News / Tips / Blog
    • FAQ’s / Help
    • Job Openings
    • Value-Based Art Lessons
  • Contact
Get Pricing

More results...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

“I can’t even draw a stick figure!”

Posted on February 9, 2011

“I can’t even draw a stick figure!”  

Does this sound familiar?  This common lament will not be heard from a Meet the Masters student!

The beginning of adolescence marks the end of artistic development among most children, due to frustration at “getting things right.”  So it’s vitally important that we captivate children in elementary school and teach drawing skills.

By five or six, children develop a set of symbols to create a landscape that eventually becomes a single variation repeated endlessly. A blue line and sun at the top of the page and a green line at the bottom become symbolic representations of the sky and ground.

To forever change this tendency, we have three methods of teaching children to draw in all of our 105 directed and scripted classroom art activities:

  1. Right Brain Drawing: The children learn tricks to turn “off” the logical, step-by-step left side of their brain, and allow that creative, artistic side to dominate.  After completing a right brain drawing lesson, we often hear a student excitedly exclaim: “I didn’t know I could draw that!”
  2. Left Brain Drawing: There are definite skills to be learned in drawing, and step-by-step instruction is a proven drawing method. We use directed lessons, to teach how to draw: portraits of both people and animals, windmills, sailboats, trees, birds, bamboo – -to name a few. We love watching their confidence grow with each proud result.
  3. Free Drawing: Children need to explore, experiment, and enjoy the freedom of drawing what they are feeling and/or imagining.  Many of our units feature abstract art, and the children always respond creatively and enthusiastically to being abstract artists themselves.

With these three varied approaches, our MTM students will never be heard to say the dreaded, “I can’t even draw a stick figure!”

Thank you for placing a priority on art education.  Learn more about our art curriculum here.

Bonnie Steele, President
Meet the Masters

Previous Post
Meet the Masters Teacher Spotlight: Karen Packer
Next Post
Art Education, the Innovation Economy

Recent Posts

  • This lesson celebrates voices that need to be heard (Ringgold)
  • How Unique Art Projects Can Help Elementary Students In Various Ways
  • How is Every Art Lesson a New Teaching for Young Learners?
  • The most action-packed artist in our program (Remington)
  • Art Lesson For Students: Transforming Their Overall Learning Experience

Categories

  • Art Lessons (4)
  • Artists (55)
  • Blog (188)
  • Fun (6)
  • Funding (15)
  • General (31)
  • History (3)
  • In the News (74)
  • Newsletter (32)
  • People (9)
  • Research (17)
  • Testimonials (1)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Add your email to get special savings, art tips and MTM news!

Sign Up

About Meet the Masters

Meet the Masters has 40 years of experience providing interactive, multi-media art education to elementary school students worldwide. Learn more.

Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
Pinterest
X
YouTube
LinkedIn
MTM Homeschool Version
MTM Virtual Learning

Everyone Loves MTM!

As an artist and educator for over 40 years, I have always prided myself on doing what is right for students. Having the resources that not only teach skills, but the standards and the art history connected to those skills is monumental. 

Meet the Masters gives teachers and the students the language to articulate what the work is and what it means. MTM provides the curriculum and the tools to take art education to a different level. In today’s world, art is a means to connect culture, education, and who we are as a people.

Who better to learn from, than the Masters?

Dr. Elias Alonzo
Principal, St. Mary Nativity Catholic School, Joliet, IL
More MTM Testimonials

Contact Us

We would be honored to talk to you about bringing Meet the Masters to your school. There is a live person excited to give you more details about our curriculum. Contact us today!

Contact us

© Copyright 1985-2025 Meet the Masters. All Rights Reserved.

  • 35 Artist Units
  • How It Works
  • 🖼️ Gallery
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Contact

Sitemap