To help encourage creative thinking and develop your child’s critical thinking skills ask your child open-ended questions about their artwork.
Open-ended questions will help support your child’s efforts rather than if you said “good job” or “that is beautiful”. Plus, you may be surprised at their answers.
10 Questions to Ask Your Child About Their Artwork
1. What can you tell me about your picture?
2. What materials did you use?
3. Where did you get your idea?
4. What is your favorite part of the picture?
5. What title would you give this picture?
6. If you were doing this picture again what you change or do differently?
7. Why did you use the color… (insert color)?
8. What if…. (you had used the color red instead of blue or paint instead of pencil)?
9. How did you….(make these lines, decide on these colors, or create that shape)?
10. If you had more time what would you add to your artwork? Encourage your child to elaborate on their answers or use the artwork as a starting point for telling a story.
Encourage your child to elaborate on their answers or use the artwork as a starting point for telling a story. Open-ended questions will help develop critical thinking skills in your child.
By taking an interest in their work you are supporting them and helping them express their own ideas. Follow us on
Jill says
LOVE these questions!! Being a household that regularly completes independent art projects and assignments these questions will certainly come in handy 🙂
Jamie Hand says
We do lots of art too! I love open drawing time and then asking the questions. They amaze me with how their minds work. 🙂
Cynthia L says
I learned quickly to not assume I knew what my daughter had drawn or painted. Great questions!
Jamie Hand says
I learned very quickly not to assume too! Thank you for coming by and sharing. 🙂
Cassie @ 3Dinosaurs.com says
I love these questions! They are so fun. I think we should ask lots of questions about projects that we might not have seen when they were doing them.
Jamie Hand says
Thank you for commenting. Asking lots of questions is a great way to show your interested in what they have to say. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Alli says
What a great way to engage with our kids. With all the artwork coming home now that the school year is ending, this is going to be perfect.
Jamie Hand says
Great point that with all the artwork coming home it would be fun to take some time and go through all the papers and ask some questions! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Emma @ P is for Preschooler says
These are great suggestions! Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say when they proudly hold up a drawing and you want to say, “Um, what is it?” lol!
Jamie Hand says
Lol! They are so proud of their papers and many times we have no idea what it is, these suggestions will help! Thanks for commenting.
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
Good questions for me to use with my kids!
Jamie Hand says
Thank you! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Jennifer Sikora says
These are great questions to get the conversation flowing about the art your child has drawn. My 16 year old loves to tell me these things when she is drawing.
Jamie Hand says
The great thing about these questions is that they work for any age! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Amanda @artsy_momma says
These are awesome! We love talking about their artwork.
Jamie Hand says
Thank you! I find they always have so many interesting things to say about their artwork. 🙂
Nicolette Roux says
We love art in my house! I must start asking some of these questions for sure! Thank you for a great list.
Jamie Hand says
We love art too! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
Claire says
This is great, thank you for sharing. I run children’s creative workshops and I always try to ask the children about what they have made. They always give the most amazing responses. Sometime the detail in their answers blows me away. I hope it’s ok but I have added the questions onto my Facebook page so that the parents who come to my workshops can see it and be inspired to ask questions too. I have added a link to your website. http://www.facebook.com/ogleepoglee
Jamie Hand says
I agree, children come up with the most amazing answers especially about all the details that you may otherwise miss. Thank you commenting and including the link to our website. 🙂
Karen says
I work in kindergartens and children will sometimes I ask if I like their painting/art work. I turn it around and ask if they like their painting, and how do they feel about it ie. did they enjoy painting? Sometimes I add, I can tell they have by their big smile, or how long they spent on it, and how it feels good to do something you enjoy. Takes away the emphasis on what I think about their creation, and it being about pleasing others. I love your list – really great – thanks. Will be very useful – needed new ways to move on from ‘what can you tell me about your painting?’
Jamie Hand says
Thank you! As an elementary art teacher I always got asked if I liked their art. Like you said I would turn it around to them as well. I gained a lot of insight about the student by asking these questions. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and commenting. 🙂
sonja says
Love this! Gave me a few more questions to ask. I’m wondering if asking: “how did you feel while painting/drawing/doing this project?” will be a good question to ask? And maybe: ” how did the paintbrush/pencil feel on the paper while you painted/drew the picture?” And: “what smell/taste does your picture/colour remind you of?” Would like to hear your thoughts on these.
Rebekah says
The first question is key, and as an art teacher for many years, is the go-to question…if the kids need a question, if it’s relevant to chat about their art. I love most of your other questions too. As for #6 and #8 I think they would come across as judgmental or confusing to children, and most artists for that matter. Children do not know why they did NOT choose something different from what they DID choose. Articulating one’s creative process, while sometimes totally delightful coming from kids, is actually hard to do if it’s put in the form of Why Not do it another way. #10 is relevant if time is clearly an issue – like if you personally heard from them that they weren’t finished – but I’m not convinced it develops critical thinking. Sometimes a thank you and a hug goes a long way to cultivating a child’s relationship with their art, their way of seeing, which they may not be able to or need to articulate.
Jamie Hand says
Thank you for sharing your opinions. What I love about art is that there is no wrong answer or wrong question for that matter. I understand your point in questions 6 and 8 but I do disagree. As an artist, I am always re-evaluating my work and what I can do or change and how that effects the final piece. I believe children can cultivate these thinking skills too. Of course, you don’t want to ask in a judging way or tone of voice. Asking a child how a drawing would be different in a three-dimensional form gets them thinking outside of what they already know, stretching their knowledge. That was the goal with both of those questions. Sounds like we both can agree having children talk about their art and their choices and process is what is important! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
julie says
I always ask the child to tell me about the artwork. I sometimes ask how they felt when they were working so they get the connection between the physical picture and the emotional picture. “How does it make you feel?” Sometimes the end product doesn’t matter much and it’s just the enjoyment of fingers in the paint or sand running through my hands.
Jamie Hand says
I completely agree! I love to hear how it makes them feel. The process is what is important along with the process of discovery. Thank you for sharing!
Alana - eSpectacularKids says
Love this! I am getting a little tired of telling my students “oh…that looks nice…what’s that part over there?” I am always looking for questions like these so I can engage them a bit more. A genuinely helpful post… thank you! You could consider making these questions an infographic… I’d love to hang this up in an art classroom.
Jamie Hand says
It is on our to do list to make an infographic based on the post. Thank you for giving the motivation to get it done!
Amanda @ Queenofthelandoftwigsnberries says
This is such a great post. As an assistant principal, I am always challenging my teachers to ask their students better questions. Love that this checklist can be altered to fit other content areas other than art, and is so incredibly parent-friendly.
Jamie Hand says
I am so glad you find it helpful! Thank you for commenting.
Carolyn Wilhelm says
Wow! This is wonderful. Many times children will have so much to say with this technique. We certainly cannot assume we know or start guessing. I saw this post on a list of 57 most popular posts! Congratulations!
sandra says
Two more questions: ‘If you were to do something really crazy to your picture what would it be?”
“If you could add some more paper (make it bigger) to your picture what would you put on it?” (Then add more paper)
For more ideas go to ‘The Painitng Experience’: http://processarts.com/pages/programs/programs.html#.VYwo72BU3dk
I did a course with Stewart Cubley and can highly recommend it.
Great post – thank you!
Jamie Hand says
Great additions! Thank you for sharing. I love the adding more paper and then add to it. Great idea!