A ball for every game you knowBig ones, small ones, striped ones. Which ball bounces the highest?
A bare cupcake that needs frosting and sprinklesA grown-up draws the cupcake. What color is the frosting? What goes on the very top?
A beaver from an oval and a tail like a paddleThe tail is flat and wide. What is your beaver building? What is it chewing on?
A big round face with everything on itEyes, nose, mouth, ears. What did we forget? Eyebrows? Freckles? Teeth?
A bunch of grapes, one circle at a timeHow many grapes can you fit on the bunch? Are they green or purple?
A crowd of shoe outlines, two from each childStand still while a friend traces your shoes. Whose are the biggest? Where are they all walking?
A crown with no jewels on it yetA grown-up draws the crown. What shape are the jewels? Who gets to wear it?
A dark sky that needs its starsA grown-up colors the sky. How many stars fit? Is the moon round tonight or curved like a smile?
A dinosaur from a hill and a row of trianglesThe triangles go along its back. How long is the tail? What is it munching?
A fence to keep the sheep in the fieldCan you make tall posts, one after another? Did any sheep sneak out?
A flowerpot with nothing growing in itA grown-up draws the pot. Is it a flower, a bean or a tree? How tall did it grow?
A hill with somebody rolling down itA grown-up draws the hill. Who is rolling down? What is at the bottom?
A hippo from a big oval and a huge open mouthHow many teeth can you count in there? Is your hippo yawning or about to eat?
A huge rainbow with a stripe from each childWhich color is yours? What is waiting at each end of the rainbow?
A lollipop with a swirl that goes round and roundStart in the middle and keep going around. What flavor is your lollipop?
A monkey from a circle and two round earsIs your monkey laughing? What is it swinging from?
A plate of peas that keep rolling awaySmall circles everywhere. How many stayed on the plate? Where did the others go?
A pool with no swimmers in it yetA grown-up draws the pool. Who jumps in first? What is floating on the water?
A snake from one long wiggle and a tiny tongueHow many bends are in your snake? What pattern runs along its back?
A stoplight with three round lampsThree circles in a tall box: red, yellow, green. Which one means go? Who is waiting?
A string for every balloon in the skyA grown-up draws the balloons. Can you give every one a string to hold on to?
A wall of faces showing how everybody feels todayAre you sleepy, silly, grumpy or glad? Can your friends guess from your picture?
A wavy line for the top of the seaA grown-up draws the waves. What is swimming underneath? What is floating on top?
An elephant from a big circle and one curvy trunkIs the trunk up or down? What is your elephant reaching for?
An empty jar for you to fillA grown-up draws the jar. What goes inside: bugs, candy or stars? Is the lid on tight?
An ostrich from a ball on two long legsAdd a long neck with a small head on top. How fast is your ostrich running?
Beads on a string for a necklaceCircle, circle, circle along the string. Can you make a pattern: red, blue, red, blue?
Cookies on a tray, straight out of the ovenCircle, circle, circle. How many fit on the tray? What is baked in: chips, raisins or sprinkles?
Follow-the-leader lines across the whole paperOne child draws a line and the others follow it. Where is the leader taking you?
Legs, legs and more legs for a very long bugA grown-up draws the long body. Can you add legs all the way along? How many did you make?
One big beehive with a bee from each childA grown-up draws the hive. Is your bee flying home or off to a flower? What is it carrying?
One big tree where every child adds a birdWhat color is your bird? Is it singing, sleeping or building a nest?
One candle for each year you have hadHow old are you? Can you draw that many candles and put a flame on each?
Party streamers curling down from the ceilingLong curly lines coming down. What color is each one? Whose party is it?
The teeth of a comb, one straight line at a timeA grown-up draws the top of the comb. How many teeth can you fit? Whose hair will it comb?
Train tracks that cross the whole paperTwo long lines and lots of little ones in between. How many little lines fit? Who waits at the station?
Waves for a little boat to ride onCan you make the sea go up and down, up and down? Is it a calm day or a windy one?
Whoever tucks you in at nightWhat do they say to you? Is there a book, a song or a special blanket?
You eating your favorite breakfastWhat is in the bowl or on the plate? Who else is at the table?
You fast asleep, and what shares your bedWhich toys sleep next to you? What color is your blanket?
You giving somebody a great big hugWho are you hugging? How far do your arms have to stretch?
You in your favorite thing to wearIs it a cape, a hat or a shirt with a picture on it? What color is it?
You, as tall as the whole paperWhere are your feet? Where is the top of your head? What are you wearing today?
Your face when you are very, very happyHow big is your smile? What made you so happy?
Ages 5 to 6 46
A bat from a circle and two pointy wingsIs your bat flying or upside down? What time of night is it?
A camel from a box and two bumps on topWho is riding between the bumps? How hot is the sun today?
A clock with all its numbersWhere does the 12 go? What time is it on your clock? Is it time for a snack?
A crocodile from a long box and zigzag teethIs the mouth open wide or shut tight? Is your crocodile smiling?
A doughnut shop window with a doughnut for everyoneA circle with a circle inside. What color is the icing? Which one is yours?
A Ferris wheel with a seat for every friendOne big circle with little seats all the way around. Who is at the very top?
A fishbowl with one fish and a floor of pebblesHow many pebbles are at the bottom? Does the fish have a castle or a plant?
A giraffe from two boxes, one of them very tallThe tall box is the neck. What can your giraffe see from up there?
A guitar with six strings to strumSix long lines down the neck. What song are you playing? Who is singing along?
A jungle with somebody hiding behind every leafWhat did you hide: a monkey, a parrot, a tiger's tail? Can your friends find it?
A kangaroo from a tall oval and a pocketWho is riding in the pocket? How far can your kangaroo jump?
A ladder with enough steps to touch the moonHow many steps does your ladder need? Who is climbing to the top?
A long clothesline with nothing on it yetA grown-up draws the line. Will you hang up socks, shirts or something silly?
A map of the walk we all took todayWhat did we pass first? Who saw the dog? Can you draw the thing you remember best?
A maze path from a mouse to its cheeseA grown-up draws the mouse and the cheese. Can your crayon find a wiggly way between them?
A moose from a box and two wide antlersThe antlers spread out like open hands. Who is perched on them? Where is your moose wading?
A narwhal from an oval and one long tuskHow long is the tusk? Is there ice floating on top of the water?
A parade down the middle with everybody marchingWhat do you carry in the parade: a drum, a flag or a balloon?
A plain T-shirt that needs a picture on the frontA grown-up draws the shirt. What will you put on it: an animal, a number or your name?
A stingray from a diamond and a long tailIs it gliding over sand or over rocks? Who swims underneath it?
A window for everyone who lives with youA grown-up draws the house. Who is looking out of each window? Is anybody waving?
A wrapped present, and what is inside itA grown-up draws the box. Draw what is in it next to the box. Is it big, tiny, noisy or soft?
A xylophone with a key for every colorLong keys at one end, short ones at the other. What tune will you play on it?
An empty stage with the curtains openA grown-up draws the curtains. Who is on the stage? Are they singing, dancing or doing magic?
An empty toy chest waiting for its toysA grown-up draws the chest. Which toys go in first? Which one is too big to fit?
Block towers traced from real blocks, windows addedTrace a block, then another on top. How tall is your tower? Who lives up there?
Everybody draws the friend sitting on their leftLook at your friend. What color is their hair? What are they wearing today? Are they smiling?
Everybody traced, head to toe, on one long rollLie down while a friend traces you. What will you wear? What face are you making?
Everybody who eats dinner at your tableWho sits next to you? What is on the plates tonight? Who talks the most?
Glasses for somebody who needs themTwo circles and a little bridge. Who wears them? What can they see now?
Lightning zigzagging out of a dark cloudHow many zigzags come out of your cloud? Who is counting until the boom?
One enormous web with a thread from each childWhere does your thread start and stop? Who is the spider? What landed in the web?
One giant footprint, and whoever made itA grown-up draws the footprint. How big is the rest of the creature? Where is it going?
Our classroom drawn together, a corner per childEach child draws one corner. Where is the door? Where do the blocks live? Where do you sit?
The person who makes you laugh the mostWhat silly thing do they do? Can you draw them doing it?
Planets going around and around a starBig ones, small ones, one with a ring. Which planet would you visit first?
The playground of our dreams, one ride from each childWhat does your ride do: spin, bounce or fly? How many friends fit on it?
Pointy mountains drawn in one long zigzagUp, down, up, down. Which mountain is the tallest? Is there snow at the top?
Rings on a pond where a stone went inCircles inside circles, getting bigger. Who threw the stone? Did a frog jump?
Roots growing down under a flowerWhat is happening under the ground? How far down do the roots go? Who lives down there?
Two dots that are the eyes of a creatureA grown-up draws two dots. What kind of creature is looking at you? Is it friendly?
You and a friend out on the playgroundAre you on the swing, the slide or the monkey bars? What game are you playing?
You doing a grown-up's job for one dayWould you drive a truck, bake bread or fix teeth? What do you wear to work?
You on your way to schoolDo you walk, ride or take a bus? What do you pass on the way?
You when you were a tiny babyHow small were you? Who carried you around? Did you have any hair yet?
Your teacher at circle timeWhere does everyone sit? What is your teacher holding up for you to see?
How it works
These drawing ideas for preschoolers are for ages three to six, read out by a grown-up. Each comes with a starter question, and they are grouped by the mark a child practices: lines, circles, people, animals from two shapes.
Read the full guide
Preschool drawing ideas, grouped by the mark
Lines with a job gives a line something to do: A fence to keep the sheep in the field, Train tracks that cross the whole paper. Round and round is circles. Many children of this age start joining circles and lines into simple figures, which is where Me and my people begins.
Kindergarten drawing ideas and drawing ideas for 5 year olds
Choose Ages 5 to 6 in the dropdown for the ones that ask for more: counting, a pattern or a small story, such as A clock with all its numbers. Ages 3 to 4 holds the rest. The ages are our own sorting, not a rule.
Daycare drawing ideas for a whole room sit in Big paper for a group, made for one long roll.
In Finish what a grown-up starts, the question says which part the grown-up draws.
Questions and answers
What are easy drawing ideas for preschoolers?
Ideas with one mark to repeat. A string for every balloon in the sky is one line at a time, and A bunch of grapes, one circle at a time is circles. A grown-up can draw the balloons first.
What do I say when a child asks what to draw?
Read the idea, then its question. You giving somebody a great big hug comes with: Who are you hugging? How far do your arms have to stretch? The answer is what gets drawn.
What can a group of preschoolers draw together?
Big paper for a group has ideas where every child adds a part, such as A huge rainbow with a stripe from each child and One big tree where every child adds a bird.
Are there ideas for older kids?
Yes. Drawing prompts for kids runs up to age 12, with its own starter questions. No idea is on both pages.