Drawing activities for 6 and 7-year-olds

The best drawing activities for 6 and 7-year-olds give quick, visible success: step-by-step characters, silly monsters, pets, simple comics and grid puzzles. At this age, kids start to care about how their drawing looks, so activities with a clear finished result keep them motivated, while open-ended games keep the fun.

What changes at 6 and 7

First and second graders draw people with bodies, clothes and expressions. They plan a little before they start, they want things to look “right,” and they notice when a friend draws better. This is the age where some kids start saying “I can’t draw.” The answer is not more pressure but better tools: activities that break drawing into small, doable steps. See what to do when a kid says “I can’t draw”.

15 activities they’ll love

Step-by-step characters

1. A cartoon monster. Monsters can’t be “wrong,” which makes them perfect. Try a free lesson from the monsters hub.
2. Your pet, cartoon style. Start with a cartoon cat or dog, then add your pet’s colors. See how to draw your pet and the cats and dogs lessons.
3. A dinosaur family. Draw a big one and a baby. Dinosaur lessons here.
4. A robot. Boxes and circles, then buttons. Robot lessons.

Creative challenges

1. Change one thing. Draw a lesson character, then draw it again with a new mood.
2. Monster mash-up. Combine two animals into one creature. See hybrid animals.
3. Shape challenge. Turn a circle into three different characters.
4. Draw the scene next. Put the character on a beach, in space or at school.

Games

1. Squiggle game. One person draws a squiggle, the other turns it into something. More in drawing games for kids.
2. Draw what I describe. Describe a monster shape by shape while everyone draws.
3. Prompt spinner. Spin the drawing prompt generator and draw it.

Bigger projects

1. A four-panel comic. Use one character in four boxes. See making a comic with kids.
2. A grid drawing. Copy one square at a time. What is grid drawing?
3. A tiny book. Fold paper into a booklet and draw a story.
4. A home art show. Pick the best drawings and invite the family. See host a kids’ art show.

How to help

• Draw alongside them. Kids copy how you hold the pencil and how calmly you fix a mistake.
• Sketch lightly first. Light lines are easy to erase. Dark lines go on at the end.
• Praise the process. “You kept going on the hard part” helps more than “Beautiful.”
• Keep a folder. Looking back at old drawings shows real progress.

The right level

Six and seven-year-olds are right in the sweet spot for How to Draw books. If a child finds steps frustrating, a Trace Then Color page builds confidence. If they breeze through, try Draw by Grid. For older kids, see drawing ideas for 8 to 10-year-olds.

The book that helps

Monsters and pets are two favorite subjects at this age. Each How to Draw book walks kids through dozens of characters, with a light gray outline of the finished drawing on every step.

How to Draw: Cute Cartoon MonstersSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: Cartoon Cats & DogsSee it on Amazon

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