The above images were created by one of my students who was aged 10. I started teaching this student to shade with colored pencils when she was in the second grade. When children enter elementary school, they become progressively more sensitive about the opinions of their classmates, and they seek a teacher who helps them draw better. That is when I start teaching a bit more drawing technique, but I do not rush that. For the younger elementary students, I mix creative art with drawing exercises.

Primrose Painted by a 6-Year-Old in a Jacki Kellum Art Class

Although the early elementary students are learning a bit of technique. They are also allowed to paint creatively.

Year by year, I add more and more technical training.

Colored Pencil Drawings by my 9th-grade student. I also began teaching this student to draw realistically and to shade when she was in the second grade. I only allow my students to use Prismacolor Professional Colored Pencils.