Kerlavage:

-       Make marks and lines that are unrecognizable to adults but have meaning to themselves and show initial attempts to represent their world visually

-       Uncontrolled mark-making is primarily kinesthetic and usually unintentional

-       Recognize color but don’t use it with forethought

-       Begin to identify their marks and name them and make up stories about them

-       Develop fine motor skills which give them a better control of tools

-       Progress towards making recognizable visual symbols

-       Age 2, Unaware of the marks they make but react to external stimuli

-       Limited attention span so they work quickly in spurts

Swann:

-       Teachers need to emphasize intellectual and expressive values of experiences with materials

-       Prefer materials that respond to the touch or have bright colors

-       Enjoy mixing colors and finger painting, the physical and sensor qualities of a medium

Implications:

-       Speak with the students about what they’re drawing in order to gain a greater understanding of their thought processes.

-       Need to provide many different types of mark-making tools so the student can become familiar with them

-       Incorporate lessons that associate colors with different meanings

-       Encourage storytelling through the lessons

-       Provide types of art supplies that vary in size and shape to improve dexterity

-       Encourage making symbols in different media

-       Use media that create external stimuli, like banging or squishing, to engage the student

-       Have several different activities ready with short clean-up times

-       Create lessons that pair up a traditional skill with an artistic skill that helps express it

-       Provide materials that engage the students interests

-       Use materials that have unique textures