Children and design

I recently ordered a copy of a wonderful book called "Beautiful Stuff" By Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandin, which I've been reading and re-reading every chance I get. One paragraph I particularly like is about children's natural design sense on p. 32. 

"Looking at these arrangements of objects we see the strong sense of design in young children. It is in this sense of composition that Picasso refers to when he says, "Once I drew like Raphael, but it has taken me a whole lifetime to learn how to draw like a child". The strong sense of design that emerges in the early years is often misunderstood or not encouraged. To hear children describe how they put their designs helps us appreciate the complexity of their thinking and the many ways of making connections."