How to Draw: Slip the Snail from Ron Mulvey on Vimeo.
‘Slip the Snail’ is a slippery little character that all the students from ages 3 to 7 love to draw. ‘Slip’ can dance on it’s tail, sing scales, ride on a skateboard and fly across the sky. This how to draw a snail video is perfect for K to 3
AHH!!! …but it also holds one of Artabet’s secret “Printing and Cursive Writing” skill building exercises …. the CURLY “Q”. This blog will show you How Drawing a Snail Can Improve Your Child’s Printing and Cursive Writing Skills as well as other Artabet characters and exercises and games.
How Improve Your Child’s Printing, and Handwriting Skills Using Artabet Skill Builders
The basic 6 lines of the Artabet will give your children and your students a powerful tool to express their creativity and assist them in the every day mechanics of how to print and handwrite. You may be at this website because you want direction with the development of fine motor skills for your young child. Perhaps a teacher has mentioned they need help with their fine motor skills, or they don’t form their letters properly.
If you can take the time to go through the Artabet blogs you will find many ideas and ‘Pencil Tips’ that will improve your child’s performance at school and at home. I’ll put some down here and then encourage you to search through our other blogs to find what you need to improve skills and encourage confidence.
Here is an example of one of Artabet’s most important Principles from the book “FIRST STEPS TO DRAWING” which will assist drawing, printing, and cursive writing.
Foundation for Balance and Even
Now you really know your Curly Q’s.
Colour your drops
A Great Place To Start !
In all the universe there are only 6 lines … all the rest are variations. Master them and you can then begin to draw anything! The advantage of working with this drawing system is that you will be able to present fundamental artistic concepts and work them into your student’s artwork in a seamless manner. Mathematical concepts make numbers come alive. Literary concepts bring magic to words. Artistic concepts free us to express visually.
You can draw anything with these 6 universal lines.
Let’s use these six lines to get warmed up as you do these ARTABET Energy Lines (seen below) with your students. Keep your pencil up and your elbow high as you swing, push, pull, and tap your way around these ‘Developmental’ Art Warm Ups. Here is the simple drawing sequence that I follow in class. Start in the middle with round and round, then up and down, back and forth, zig zag zig zag, wiggle wiggle and finish with dot dot dot.
Round and Round,Up and Down, Back and Forth, Zig Zag, Wiggle Wiggle, Dot Dot Dot … Say it … Draw it …Master it!
Shading Is the Premium Developmental Exercise For Printing and Handwriting
Start at the bottom and practice dark to light and then light to dark. More pencil pressure produces dark and less pressure produces light.
This is a muscle awareness game so the more times you do it the better you get. If you remember the ARTABET Warm Ups and practice them you will find this game to be an extension of Up and Down and Back and Forth.
You can see the Artabet principle of ‘symmetry’ at work in the flower shape. The principle of In Front and Behind is also evident. Learn the principles, develop muscle awareness, broaden your technique, add some artistic imagination and you have a recipe for improving your printing and handwriting.
I also think that boys write in print more often than girls.My 7th grade son still asks me what certain lerttes look like in cursive.I can’t imagine writing an essay in block lettering! It would take 10 times longer!I remember practicing my handwriting and trying to have the cutest writing among my friends.I guess these days you compare Myspace?
Thanks Sam for your comment.
Cursive writing was originally taught first and was replaced with printing by John Dewey I believe. It is actually easier to write than print …but you must do the exercises first.
The Artabet follows the same principle … do the exercises and the drawing is easy!