I find using a drawing prompt a great idea when sometimes children freeze when presented with a blank page. I love challenging the boys to draw their dream pet.  it is a great activity that uses their imagination and as it is a dream pet it doesn’t have to be real at all.  I recently looked after my best friends five year old and decided to challenge him to draw his dream pet.

Not all families can have a real pet like our wonderful dog Alvin and some kids want something more interesting than a dog for their pet.  Just take Q.  We sat down and got out his colouring pens and pencils and he started to tell me all about the pet that he would like.  I joked with him that it would be really challenging to get pet insurance from Petplan for his pet like we have for Alvin,

A Simple Drawing Prompt -Design a Dream Pet

Be an Appreciative Audience

One of the things that I am learning at the moment is to just be an appreciative audience when it comes to play and creativity.  I have stopped asking lots of questions.  There is no more of “Tell me which colour you are using”? “What are you drawing”? questions coming from me, instead I sit and watch and just say positive things, such as I love the colours you are choosing or tell me a little about your drawing.

By listening and being positive about the activity, I learned that Q really wanted a lion for a pet as it was loud and he could stroke it’s mane!  I also learned that imagination is amazing and children have bundles of it.

I love how wild the lion’s mane is and  also that he used two crayons together to get the effect. I find using a drawing prompts so much fun for kids and it is a great starting off point as sometimes when faced with a blank sheet of paper they just do not know where to start.

And look at what PetPlan had made for Q!  His very own dream pet as a soft toy.  He was over the moon and look at just how much it looks like his lion.

If you like this idea, then why not take a look at our other drawing prompt ideas.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you in collaboration with PetPlan