Coloring, how important is it?

[TENIA66]

I had a similar struggle which required a school meeting about DD now 12. In pre k and kindergarten she struggled to use scissors. It was not a big mystery to me as she was not allowed to have them at home so she wouldn't cut anything she shouldn't. I got called to school, and basically acused of being a bad parent for a) working and b) having an opinion other than theirs at school and c) not allowing my daughter free rein with scissors. I reluctantly agreed to allow her to use them more frequently at home, but with supervision. Silly me. I let her use them, put the scissors away, (I thought) and left her to watch cartoons and play dolls while I scrubbed the bathroom. I came back, not five minutes later and half of her hair was gone and her ear was bleeding. Obviously I had not put the scissors away well enough. Oh well,.......


that which does not kill you.........

 

[Aidensmom]

you've gotten lots of good responses, I don't have anything to add except it reminded me of a book my kids liked a lot

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola. The teacher wanted him to stay in the lines and he was only allowed 8 crayon colors!

BTW my oldest daughter was never much good at standard coloring book pages, but she always loved art. She's now in her senior year at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and will get her BFA in May.

http://www.readtomeintl.org/display.cfm?storyID=28&sid=5

That looks like a great book, thanks!

I know several posts here have said maybe he is creative - yes, he is, very much so. He loves making up stories and acting them out, playing the guitar and other instruments, can arrange flowers like a pro, etc. I think that may just be getting in his way a little in understanding that there are certain things that sometimes just have to be done a certain way. As someone else mentioned, he is always trying to do things HIS way, and that admittedly can be quite a struggle!

 

[my4kids]

Coloring is important for fine motor skill development...good colorers generally have better handwriting later on, and do not hate writing as much...(getting hand cramps etc). Usually kids who do not enjoy coloring are the ones who need to do it the most, because they are going to hate trying to learn how to write later. Trying to stay in the lines is important only to master this fine motor control. Coloring in rainbows is creative, and I can not imagine why a teacher would have a problem with that. (Unless it is a time management issue, with not completing the project because of too many crayon changes and color decisions. )

So it is important only so far as it is good practice for skills learned later...but if you are asking if your son can still be smart and employable later on without having been a colorer...the answer is yes....he still can.

 

[cgcw]

Ugh. I remember those days.

Here is a tip that helped my son learn to stay in the lines, which was a big accomplishment.

I found some simple coloring sheets and outlined them in Elmer's glue. When they dried, the glue was clear but provided an edge for my DS to feel so he learned where to stop coloring. It helped him tremendously.

My DS11 hated coloring, still does. He's just not the artsy type and wanted no part of it.

His kindergarten teacher made such an issue out of it, told me that he was going to have to repeat kindergarten if he didn't learn how to do it correctly. Which in her mind, was in the lines and neatly stroked. I had such an issue with this -- because if he didn't she was going to continue to give him grief.

Some kids just don't have artistic ability. Heck, I can't even draw a stick person and I would have suffered immensely in my DS11's kindergarten class.

We struggled through the year and come 1st grade, no more required coloring on coloring sheets.