Drawing is more than the final outcome.
Drawing is more than the final outcome. It is the process of drawing, observing and learning that is key. 
Earlychildhood News wrote the following about how art can help children’s development:
Know the theory of learning by doing
Arts and crafts offer children endless opportunities to learn by doing. And they are likely to remember what they learn! Brain researchers tell us that children retain more information when hands-on activities go along with that learning. Children learn:
10% of what they READ
20% of what they HEAR
30% of what they SEE
50% of what they HEAR and READ
70% of what they SAY and,
90% of what they DO!
Drawing from something you learn about provides an excellent example of learning from doing.
Learning Patterns in Drawing
The fur of the ocelot
This drawing was drawn by a 10 Year old. Can you see how the child is creating this drawing? Can you feel the feeling of this Ocelot creeping through the lush Jungle leaves? What is he looking at?
This lesson incorporated learning of the patterns an ocelot has. The spots on the front of the face are smaller while the farther they go from the face the more round and pattern like the patterns get.
The Giraffe
The Giraffe is an interesting animal to draw! Learning how to draw the patterns was a challenge for this 6 year old. He learned that patterns are NOT spots but more like the pattern you would get on a stepping stones on a garden path.
The Sea Turtle
The Sea turtle provided a great lesson on positive and negative space. Can you see where that comes in? In the patterns of the shell. This 7 Year old also got to use his imagination and reference photos to create the sea creatures in the background.
The Eye
The eye is one of an artists favorite things to draw. You can look up endless videos on Youtube on how to draw the eye because it is so fun! The eye also provides a great opportunity to learn.
Did you know that you have an upper eyelid as well as a lower eyelid and that the upper eye lid will sometimes show in a drawing depending on the angle. Also notice where this 12 year old put the the highlights in the eye. You will usually see a rim of light between the pupil and the iris. The pattern in this lesson is found in the iris.
Drawing provides an in depth experience of learning.
Drawing is learning in action. It provides us the opportunity to really understand something. To really understand how it works, how it moves why it was made the way it was.
When you are learning and studying a subject so intently you are learning and making that knowledge concrete in your mind.
Best of all…..ITS FUN!