Moms of 5 and 6 year old boys- coloring ?

[MellowYellow]

I know most boys progress more slowly with their fine motor skills. I was just wondering how your 5 or 6 year old was at coloring.

 

Does he color the whole picture?

 

Does it look more like scribbling at times?

 

Does he stay in the lines?

 

Does he enjoy coloring?

 

 

My son 5 almost 6 in a couple of months has a hard time coloring. He tries so hard to stay in the lines, but sometimes he just doesn't. If he does it looks more like a scribble inside the picture. I don't want to be hard on him, I just tell him to make sure he takes his time and not rush. When I remind him of these things he just gets down on himself and tells me I think he is a horrible drawer. I just tell him as long as he tries his best then that is all that matters. I know he will get it eventually so I try and be patient with him, but it just looks sloppy most of the time.

[Gailmegan]

I helped out with the midweek children's ministry at our church, ages 4-6. After snack they would get a coloring sheet and have free time to play until their parents came. Every. Single. Boy (including mine) would grab one crayon, scribble all over the paper and say, "Done! May I go play now?" The girls would sit and meticulously color their picture, with multiple crayons, until it was completed before going to play.

 

I only have boys, but they hated coloring until just this past year. My 10 yo is moving into Logic Stage so I told him I wasn't going to get the activity pages for history this year. He begged me to get him a set so he could color while listening to SOTW. :confused:

 

I think many boys are too busy with gross motor at the age 5-6 to take the time and enjoy developing fine motor.

[Julie Smith]

My boys don't color. I guess I never thought of getting them to try.

 

My eldest can easily get feeling down when trying to draw. My youngest just goes at it. And once done will look at it. If it didn't turn out like he wanted then he'll make up a new story for the picture.

 

"See a bottle cap just showed up on the his head. I didn't even try to put it on his head. Isn't that neat. "

[veggiegal]

My boys both enjoyed drawing at that age, but not colouring. The older, just turned 9, is only now starting to enjoy colouring, and only now able to stay (or interested in staying?) between the lines.

[blondeviolin]

If it makes you feel any better my 5yo girl doesn't care about coloring really at all. If I ask her to do it, she tells me it's too hard or she's not good at it. Then when she DOES try, it is still scribbling when she tries to stay in the lines. I'm not worried about it.

[Guest]

Funny, my kids were just coloring and I was thinking about this. Here is the page that my almost 6 1/2 yr. old son just colored 5 minutes ago. He has come miles from where he was in coloring just a few months ago. I am fine where he is; this is probably at his best:

[WeeBeaks]

My boys both enjoyed drawing at that age, but not colouring. The older, just turned 9, is only now starting to enjoy colouring, and only now able to stay (or interested in staying?) between the lines.

 

:iagree: My 9yo son just recently began enjoying Dover coloring books about Knights, Planes, etc. My 5yo (6 this month) like to draw with How to Draw books but I noted in VBS this year he would just scribble over the picture with one color and be done with it. If forced, he will color in the lines, but takes no joy in it, and treats it like just something to be tolerated, kinda like his math workbook.

[*Jen*]

My DS is the odd one out. He LOVES to color. He has been coloring within the lines since he was about 4.5 and by 5 was using lots of colors and using more appropriate colors for what he was coloring. Now at 6 he colors in those giant coloring sheets and colors everything. He will take several days to completely color a sheet.

[Ewe Mama]

I have three boys within 14 months of each other. The eldest (will be 7 next month) is very good at coloring. I don't know that he truly enjoys it, but if coloring is a part of his schoolwork, he will do it nicely and neatly. However, he never seeks out a coloring book to use in his free time.

 

Our next son is 5 1/2 (will be 6 in November). He would rather do just about anything than color. When it is required for school, he grabs a crayon (in a totally unrealistic color, which doesn't really bother me), scribbles for 1.3 seconds and then yells, "Done!"

 

Son number 3 is also 5 1/2 (birthday in December). He's somewhere between the other two. He tends to be more meticulous, but gets very frustrated because his fine motors aren't as "good" as he wants them to be. I think the work he does is normal for a boy his age.

 

All three are very normal children developmentally, and I don't have any concerns about their abilities or desires (or lack thereof ;)) pertaining to coloring.

 

Your ds is normal! Give him a big hug and tell him he's brilliant! Do some fingerpainting or other "messy" creative stuff to do. Tell him there is no "right" way to do it. Just let him have fun :001_smile:

[amazzie]

My just-turned 8 year old is just now ABLE to color. He still doesn't like it!

[jenn-]

One of my twins tries to color somewhat neatly. The other one loathes coloring (in his defense he is partially color blind and I think this makes a difference for him). He can stay in the lines, but still does the solid color thing. The 5 yo grabs a color and might fill in the whole thing or just the middle, never caring about staying in the lines.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

My 2 sons, ages 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 HATE to color. They scribble. They do not stay in the lines and most of the time they do not use more than 1 color. Ds 6 is going to be 7 in Oct and I am just starting to barely see some improvement- not much though.

[NanceXToo]

My son, who will be 6 in three months, has NO interest in coloring for the most part. Every once in a blue moon he might color a page like on a kid's menu at a restaurant if he was bored enough...he wouldn't try particularly hard to stay in the lines and wouldn't color the whole picture.

 

He doesn't like to draw on his own either. Once in a while he will and then it's mostly scribbles or random shapes. Very rarely will he attempt to draw people or other recognizable things.

[MellowYellow]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You all have made me feel so much better. I am just going to relax while he colors and let him do his thing. I know eventually he will get it when he is ready. I feel bad, because although I said he was doing a great job I was pressuring him to take his time and "not be so sloppy". Now I am just going to say awesome job and give him a big high five.

[Samiam]

Here is a great comparison. DS8 used to hate to color at age 5, would barely touch color to paper, scribble a few lines, and beg to be done.

 

Today, we were coloring a world map, just coloring in the 7 continents.

 

DS8's looks perfect, every little island and detail is just lovely. He was actually upset with himself for going over the line at one point.

 

DS5, who is mentally "ahead" of where DS8 was at that same age, colored his continents, but very scribbly, not in lines, overall it's a mess, lol. But he did it, without complaint, so "so be it", ya know.

 

So I definately think it is just an age thing. Couldn't say if it a boy vs girl, as I have no experience with girls, lol!

[FO4UR]

My current 5yo boy is a detailed and avid colorer, much influenced by his 2 big siblings.;)

 

My oldest didn't draw or color well for a long while. He's 8yo now and a great little artist.

 

I find, in general, I push my oldest too much...and I'm burned out on the pushing by the time the younger two get to that point and THEY end up benefiting from my burn-out (hands-OFF approach)...learning to step back with my oldest...sigh!

[...................]

doesn't stay in the lines,

 

doesn't color the whole picture

 

and hates coloring.

 

However, she has excellent fine motor skills and now that she is 7, her drawing is beautiful with straight lines and neat details, etc. Plus, her handwriting is pretty good too.

 

I just don't make a big deal about coloring. I look at the heart attitude, more than the product too. I know my dd hates coloring but there have been a few times when she really had to color something for a SOTW picture, or a math page, and as long as she did it cheerfully and didn't completely slop it, I was satisfied. A few times, she really just didn't even try at ALL, and those times, I talked to her about doing all things as unto the LORD, and together we went back and fixed it up...

 

HTH

[boscopup]

My 7 year old doesn't color unless he has to, and he's just recently started to color more than scribble. Mostly he draws stick figures though.

[Hwin]

Mine likes coloring but his style is pretty scribbly. He can do some amazing things with sidewalk chalk, though. He'll draw gigantic murals of rabbits sporting rocket packs (I think?) and obstacle courses for his monster trucks.

[Farrar]

My duo turn 7 next month. They both swing from loving to color, staying in the lines, and doing the whole thing to scribbles, half colored pictures and no interest. When they're into it, they'll color a bunch. One of my ds's likes scribbling on plain paper best though. He seems to genuinely like the way it looks. And he does do it with interesting color combos I guess.

[nov05mama]

My DS has NEVER liked to color...he would, and he *could* but he wouldn't unless I needed him to. He LOVED to draw and is a great artist! He only just NOW, literally in the past 2 weeks, has started coloring...and it was sparked by a new-found interest in his Color Wonder items...I even purchased him a new one to 'feed' the interest. He's been drawing and coloring everything now.

He's very good at coloring when he colors though...if it's something he doesn't want to really do, he will scribble a bit more than usual, but for the most part, he colors in really well. He will be 6 in 3 months!

[Guest]

That is normal for the age. Mine are just 6 and just 6. it is pretty much the way theirs looks. I just do not say anything about it. Really, make it a non-issue. Comment on the nice color he chose or my favorite "Wow! You sure are working hard on that!". or "You sure worked hard on that." Works wonders.

[PeacefulChaos]

I know most boys progress more slowly with their fine motor skills. I was just wondering how your 5 or 6 year old was at coloring.

 

Does he color the whole picture?

 

Does it look more like scribbling at times?

 

Does he stay in the lines?

 

Does he enjoy coloring?

 

 

My son 5 almost 6 in a couple of months has a hard time coloring. He tries so hard to stay in the lines, but sometimes he just doesn't. If he does it looks more like a scribble inside the picture. I don't want to be hard on him, I just tell him to make sure he takes his time and not rush. When I remind him of these things he just gets down on himself and tells me I think he is a horrible drawer. I just tell him as long as he tries his best then that is all that matters. I know he will get it eventually so I try and be patient with him, but it just looks sloppy most of the time.

 

1. sort of - if all one color counts :D

2. yep, most of the time

3. it depends on his mood - never perfectly inside the lines, but sometimes better than others

4. nope, he hates it. like, seriously. Which is probably why all my answers are what they are. :lol:

[PeacefulChaos]

My boys don't color. I guess I never thought of getting them to try.

 

My eldest can easily get feeling down when trying to draw. My youngest just goes at it. And once done will look at it. If it didn't turn out like he wanted then he'll make up a new story for the picture.

 

[I]"See a bottle cap just showed up on the his head. I didn't even try to put it on his head. Isn't that neat. "[/i]

:lol:

[Tarreymere]

I have kids who are a bit slow at developing fine motor skills but the four who are older (12, 15, 24, 25) are perfectly fine. They don't have the neatest handwriting, but it is fairly legible. None of them are artists!

 

I have an almost eight year old daughter who does NOT color the whole picture, does NOT stay in the lines, does look like scribbling ALL the time, HATES coloring, and still has to use the big triple lined kindergarten type writing paper to write with because she just can't make her letters any smaller. She also still needs constant correction with the way she holds scissors (really hard to describe and very awkward) and even eating utensils, and it took us over a year to get a halfway decent pencil grip. She has recently started learning keyboarding on her own initiative and is a lot more willing to 'write' on the computer than on paper. She does like to draw, though, but her drawings are not exactly what one would expect of the average kid her age. I just appreciate them for the enjoyment she gets out of it.

 

I have a four year old son who is following in the footsteps of his siblings. Coloring is torture, who knew? :glare:

[chepyl]

My son loves to color. If the picture is too detailed he may stop before finishing or scribble the end a bit. He also loves to paint. His focus is and always has been unusual.

[HayleyKC]

My 5 almost 6 year old boy loves to color and does pretty well. He gets very detailed, particular about what colors to use, and often colors the entire page, all the way to the edges! I really, really think this has almost all to do with him having an older sister (8) who is a true artist and really values art. Since she's his playmate everyday, he has come to enjoy it since that's what she wants to do. I've found because of that, his skills have really come along. However he's nowhere near the way she is, but I think above average for a boy his age. I also teach in Sunday school at church and all the boys his age do what was described earlier; scribble one color and then run and play.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Sounds like on average, based on other comments, most boys get into coloring a few years later, if at all. I think my son just demonstrates the power of association! :-)

[Tammy (TX)]

10yo DS never liked coloring that much, but enjoys drawing with a pencil a lot. He's decent at coloring maps now if he has to, lol.

 

8yo DS never liked to color in a normal way, but would fill in pictures entirely in pencil or red pen. He would sit for an hour and do it! He'll now bust out an entire picture from scratch, but still doesn't like coloring in someone else's picture. I think that was the issue with both of my boys - they wanted their own ideas.

 

5yo DD loves to color, not all the way in the lines, but she's getting a lot better.

 

Kids are all so different!

[MerryAtHope]

My son didn't even start to like coloring until age 7 or 8--really liked it at 10. I'd find only positive things to say about your son's pictures. When and if he's ready to color in the lines, he will.

[kristinannie]

My son loves to color. Sometimes he is very meticulous and the result is beautiful. Sometimes (especially when there is a huge area to fill), it resembles scribbles. He does stay in the lines. I usually give them coloring pages during our read alouds, especially our read alouds without pictures. Thank God for free coloring pages. If you know that he can stay in the lines and do a good job, but is rushing through it and it doesn't look great, maybe he just doesn't like coloring! I know a lot of boys that hate to color.

[Farrar]

You know, I was sort of thinking about this. This may sound like a strange comparison, but I think coloring is a little like sandcastle building - one of those things we think of younger kids doing and enjoying, but it's actually a better older kid activity. I loved to color around age 9 or 10. I don't even remember coloring when I was really little though. And sand pits are often cordoned off as toddler areas in playgrounds, but if you've ever seen middle school boys go at it with sandcastles and water, then you really understand the joy of sandcastle building. Just musing...

[Hedgehogs4]

nope...no coloring for my ds until age 8. Hated it, didn't want to do it, so I didn't force it. Somehow at 8 he decided to do it and could do it well.

[Pixjen]

My 7yo has never liked coloring. He will happily draw, but coloring is torture. I find it very interesting because he loves doing our Artistic Pursuits lessons which always involve *creating* art and will happily paint, sketch, mold, glue, draw, etc.

 

The only time I require him to color (somewhat neatly) is during our map work for school. But instead of having him color in an entire continent, I'll have him trace the rivers in blue, and the color the names of the area in a appropriate color, and occasionally outline the geographic area. (Ex: The name "Amazon Rainforest" would be colored in green, "Mohave Desert" would be yellow, etc.)

[lorrainejmc]

My 5yr old ds loves to colour and does it reasonably well. My almost 8yr old ds? Well, what can I say? His hand goes limp like he can't feel or control the pencil and he does a few scribbles without even looking at the page. Yet he shows great fine motor control when helping prepare food (his favourite thing to do), using the computer mouse and the DS stylus etc.

[ZooRho]

my oldest hated to color, hated most any kind of art.

 

I wouldn't stress,

[iquilt]

My son has only ever colored when he is personally motivated and not any other time. He will draw and he loves to paint so he does get to practice those fine motor skills. Oh, and I just bought all three new boxes of 64 Crayola Crayons and they all now have a renewed interest in coloring.

[PeterPan]

Well I don't have time to read the entire thread, but (if it hasn't been mentioned yet) eye problems can be a cause of not or reluctant coloring. My dd wouldn't color, so I just glibly assumed it was her. (She's more of a crafter, sculptor.) Well turns out she needed vision therapy and had some issues with convergence, focusing, and how the eyes work together. Given his age and your concern, I'd have his eyes checked by a developmental optometrist. It's a good age to get it done, and there's no reason not to. http://www.covd.org