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Making and imaginingTalking together

Draw It, Then Say It

After an experience, the child represents it first by drawing or building, then narrates their creation to a parent.

Cartoon illustration of a parent and child at home doing Draw It, Then Say It.
  • Age3 to 6 years
  • Time15 to 30 minutes
  • EnergyCalm
  • CostLow cost
  • WhereIndoors
  • PrepNone

After something your child has done or seen, they show it first by drawing or building it, then tell you about what they made. Making it and then talking about it are two ways of expressing the same memory.

How to do it

  1. Pick a recent shared experience (a walk, a visit, a story, something that happened today).
  2. Offer paper and crayons, or blocks and loose parts, and invite your child to make that experience however they want.
  3. Let them choose what to include. Do not correct the colours, shapes, or accuracy.
  4. When they are done, ask them to tell you about what they made. Listen and reflect back a detail they mention.
  5. Keep or photograph the creation if they want to revisit it later.

What you need

  • Paper
  • Crayons
  • Blocks
  • Flat surface

Make it yours

Younger, 3-4 years: Expect marks and shapes rather than recognisable pictures, and keep the retell to one sentence. Older, 5-6 years: Invite more detail, or let them make it in two ways (draw it and build it). Siblings: Each makes their own version of the shared experience, then they compare.

Try this with your child.

Tell PLAI™ about your child and this moment. It shapes the activity to fit.

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