Is coloring important?

[ngraysmith]

I'm curious about the use of coloring books, especially with SOTW. I tend to dislike coloring books that have you color in a picture, and I'm wondering why people use them/like them. Also, if we decide not to use them, should I still plan to use the activity guides? Thanks!

 

Nicole

[GreenKitty]

I do not think it's important, though we do have the activity guides. We skipped most, if not all, coloring in them. They did however draw their own pictures and used some of those pages to draw things on. They did like having the activity guides. HTH

[dcjlkplus3]

We are big fans of the coloring pages and coloring books here.

I like them in general because they help with fine motor control. It can be hard for little kids to color in the lines.It helps my dd7 to have a seen a simpler drawing for when she draws for history or anything else. My husband, an artist, also like coloring pages for the kids- and he really likes it when they trace their coloring pages- it helps them learn to draw.

 

As far as history, I like them because even my little ones (3 and 5) can participate in history that way. It gives busy hands something to do when they should be listening.

 

The activity guides are still worth it however, I think, because of the review questions and the maps. They are also other activities that I would have never though of, some crafts, some games.

[Jen500]

None of my dc have enjoyed coloring books in general. They all enjoy drawing their own pictures. I think if your dc enjoy coloring books, fine, if they don't, that's fine too.

[laughing lioness]

Not if you are my 8 yo ds! He hates coloring but loves art and is quite artistic. My 5 yo dd can color for hours. I think it's a personality thing

[Karen in CO]

I don't like coloring books. We don't use the coloring pages from the Activity guides. However, I did enjoy the activity guide for the activities and the reading suggestions.

[Paula in PA]

My dd loves to color and was very unhappy when she found out the SOTW 4 activity guide doesn't have coloring pages. As for the importance, I think for those of us who are artistically challenged, coloring pages can provide a creative experience of sorts. There is also the fine motor work, as mentioned by a PP.

[Ellie]

Because they're fun. Because they're good for the dc's fine motor skills. Because they really do help dc remember things. Because they give the dc something tangible to look back on as a record of what they learned.

[Rhondabee]

I'm curious about the use of coloring books, especially with SOTW. I tend to dislike coloring books that have you color in a picture, and I'm wondering why people use them/like them. Also, if we decide not to use them, should I still plan to use the activity guides? Thanks!

 

Nicole

 

I was influenced against coloring books when my boys were little. "They will take away all their creative instinct to draw on their own," is quick paraphrase of what I was told.

 

But, oh, my! I have quite a gap between my boys (13 and 11yo) and dd (3yo). She LOVES coloring books.

 

***And she holds her crayons correctly.***

 

Without the first lesson on me on how to hold them! My boys stand in awe - the boys who *still* do not hold their pencils correctly - who seemingly *cannot* hold their pencils correctly even when they think about it.

 

And, now she even draws her own creative drawings as well as coloring in coloring books.

 

I know - she's a girl. And, they're boys; and so it's comparing apples to oranges. But I wonder....what if *they* had had access to a coloring book?

 

:001_smile:

Rhonda

[Guest ymswifeofjds]

My kids all do like to color with crayons, but not all of the time and every week for every SOTW lesson. Sometimes I copy the coloring pages onto cardstock and let the kids use paint or markers. This mixes things up enough to keep their attention.

 

I haven't tried chalk yet, but I'm almost ready to give it a try. I just need to buy that spray stuff that sets the chalk.

[Guest]

I really think this has to do with personal opinion and your child's interests. I know some children absolutely detest coloring. I think coloring is great because it increases fine motor skills...and having two children with special needs this is a must in our household. Coloring on its own does not lead to increased fine motor skills...but when a child is "trying" to stay in the lines...he/she is using more control and improving his/her fine moter skills. All my children LOVE to color and that has been their favorite part of SOTW...they want to do their history reading just so that they can color their page in their notebook. But if your child already has good fine motor skills and does not like coloring....throw them out....or you could encourage your child to draw an illustration about what you have read?

 

I think the activity guide is very useful and I would not throw it out just because you are not using the coloring pages. The map work is important for geography, they list questions to help in narration which helps to retain information, there are great activities if you choose to use them, and it has the corresponding encyclopedia pages lists.

 

HTH!

[LanaTron]

I never made my kids do the ones in the SOTW activity guides. I always thought it was just busy work. But, to my surprise, when I offered the coloring pages to my kids, they loved doing them. I think, too, that it really helped them keep quiet and still while I was reading the chapter.

[5knights3maidens]

Just a few suggestions: They don't have to colori "coloring pictures. Copy on card stock and they can put glue in them and use sand; use glitter glue; small pieces of paper to fill in big coloring pages; water colors; You can also copy them a few times and then decorate the same picture 3 times and cut two out and make them 3-d with those scrapbooking "dots". Hope this helps. Now I have to do this with my dc! I think I will try something different tonight. :lol:

[Jill]

"It gives busy hands something to do when they should be listening."

It does, it really does. Even my son who doesn't particularly enjoy coloring books or pages will sometimes work on one of them while I'm reading to him. I appreciate that as he needs the fine-motor exercise. So what if Julius Caesar looks more like The Joker from Batman - he's working those fingers and wrist muscles! We use, at most, about a third of what's provided in the Activity guide but we always do the map work though sometimes I have him draw blue stripes in the sea, for example, as an extra little bit of control work but he thinks he's getting off easier by not having to color in "the whole thing!" In reality, he practices drawing lines top-down, important for printing, and also has to attempt to space them and make them somewhat parallel. I purchased some tracing paper recently also. Pricey but I think tracing them is also a good idea.

 

We use the review questions and the book lists extensively. We only do a few of the activities but there are more than enough to choose from. One might be overwhelmed I think if they tried to do all. - Jill

[Mandarinmom]

I had colored tons of pictures when I was small, almost 40 years ago. From 8 years old I was placed into special 4 year art school. Every second day after regular school I had to go there for more 4 hours. Lessons of drawing, paintimg, sculpture, composition, art history, etc. Totally 4x3=12 hours weekly for 4 years including summer camps. I hated it, but my parents did not allow me to quit it. Because of my experience with coloring pictures, my head did not work beyond still life and portraits, because I was raised on coloring pictures, and I was a very copy-artist, very good one, but only copy. When the lesson was about coming up with your own ideas in composition, books illustrations, color, landscape, etc., my head gone blank. I was told by every art teacher that it is a result of coloring, and had to work many times more to overcome it, and never did. I won a contest in portrate in pencil, and was granted a free trip to Germany for one month, says that I was not bad, but every time I had to come up with something of my own, my hair were standing up, and I was ashamed of my inabilities compare to other kids. My copy-srtist skills took me very well through high school and college, every department needed lots of colorful displays, etc. , so that is what I did a lot instead of sitting with referates and research papers. It is still a very useful skill. But if you want to develop an artistic talant in your kids, stay away from coloring. My daughter in 4 was coming with a whole panorama action in her drawing, and my head still goes blanck if I need to come up with something orginal. I did not allow her any coloring from the age she could scribble, she has to come up with everything herself. She is doing really great at 5.5, and most important she doesn't have any barriers of how it have to look like. She is very happy with her drawings, and she illustrated every lesson from the history, LA or science. Of course eveything looks childish and immature, but you need to see the action going on on these pictures. I never can go beyond a princess standing still with hands down when it comes to illustarting.

[Melissa in Australia]

My dd loves to color and was very unhappy when she found out the SOTW 4 activity guide doesn't have coloring pages. .

same here with my dd. :crying:

[Chris in VA]

Use hairspray--it's cheaper! lol

[Chris in VA]

I was also told coloring books are bad, as they take away creativity. They give kids only one idea of how something looks. I see this in really young kids, when they ask Mom or Dad to draw them, say, a house. "I can't draw a house---you draw it, Mom" then Mom draws a square with a triangle roof, and that becomes the only way the kid draws a house. Art is funny in that there really is no right way to do it. There are techniques, but art comes from inside, and everyone is unique inside! When my dd would complain that she didn't know how to draw something, or that what she drew didn't look like what she wanted, I'd pull out several artist's pictures--There are lots of ways to draw people, I'd say, and show her Nude Descending a Staircase, and some abstract art, and some classical sculpture, for example. She'd feel better that her way was ok.

 

But, I use the SOTW pages just like the PP said--it gives dd something tangible to mark what she's learned. She didn't have coloring books, but she does do the SOTW pages, some of the time. I like that those coloring pages are frequently based on someone else's really good art! It's a little like copywork in that case.

 

The biggest reason I'd use a cb is to reinforce the correct grip, and to have a product. If kids can't color in a page, they haven't developed the ability to see an outline and make it make sense. (does that even make sense?) If they don't have the fine motor control to stay in the lines, then writing will be difficult. But I think coloring is draining to some kids--not very interesting to some, too. Depends on the kid--and there are plenty of other ways to get the skills they need. It just gives lots of practice and strengthens some skills in a way that is pleasant (to some).

Edited November 1, 2008 by Chris in VA
continued thinking about it

[katilac]

It's not as simple as coloring pages being good or bad, useful or not.

 

I don't agree that the use of coloring books results in children who have no creativity or confidence in their artistic ability. A person who colored a great deal might lack artistic originality, but that doesn't mean the coloring CAUSED the lack of originality, kwim? Artistic technique is one gift; a unique artistic perspective is a very different one. Surely most of us know people whose artistic technique is impressive, but whom we would never consider 'artists.' Likewise, many artists are reknowned for their fresh take on things without having great technical expertise.

 

Certainly, a rigid adherence to 'rules' and coloring/drawing the 'right way' can inhibit artistic expression over the long-term, but using coloring books does not need to go hand-in-hand with this mentality.

 

When nurturing talent and creativity, take a broad perspective. It can be frustrating to a student to be told that his drawing is 'wrong' or that he can only complete an art project in a set way. It can be equally frustrating when a student who would like to draw a realistic picture is told nothing of perspective.

 

Art is about technique and original thought. Like most things in life, you'll get the best results when you strike a balance, and use your common sense and knowledge of this student to know when to enforce the rules, and when to bend them or throw them out the window.

 

fwiw, we do use the coloring pages from SOTW, for reasons others have stated: my kids enjoy them, it occupies them while listening to the chapter, they like the end result, and it reenforces what we are discussing. Timeline illustrations are drawn/written on their own, so it's a nice mix.

[katilac]

I'm posting this separately, becaused it has little to do with the importance of coloring in relation to SOTW.

 

I do think coloring is important for younger childrer, for motor control and to develop muscle strength. Kids who do not have frequent access to pencils, crayons and paper in the toddler/preschool years are the ones who have trouble with the physical act of writing - - not just early on, but long-term.

 

This is what I have been told by teacher after teacher (ones I know and respect), and everything I have personally observed and read goes along with it.

 

That doesn't have to mean coloring books - - if you don't like them, and your toddler will draw and write without them, then great. But if I had a young child who was reluctant to draw and write, I would certainly try coloring books as an inducement.

[EKS]

They're good mostly for fine motor skills. Generally kids who dislike coloring are the ones who have problems with it and who "need" it most (not always, though, I'm sure!).

 

The SOTW activity guides have much more than just coloring pages! They have maps and activities and questions and supplementary book lists! Very helpful and I thoroughly recommend them even if you never use any of the coloring pages.

[katilac]

My kids all do like to color with crayons, but not all of the time and every week for every SOTW lesson. Sometimes I copy the coloring pages onto cardstock and let the kids use paint or markers. This mixes things up enough to keep their attention.

 

I haven't tried chalk yet, but I'm almost ready to give it a try. I just need to buy that spray stuff that sets the chalk.

 

You can also just let the page sit out in the air for 24 hours. I've done this for years with my scrapbook pages, and it works fine.

[Storm Bay]

My dc usually draw, not colour, but my dd's liked the colouring pages in the SOTW. I liked the map work better. I've always encouraged my dd's to draw rather than use colouring books, but it was also their preference. That said, colouring was very good for ds who never knew what to draw and always wanted people to show him how to draw things, which was very different for me. He was 5 before someone explained to him that he could draw an airplane by thinking about what it looked like instead of her showing him.

 

I grew up playing classical music by reading music & colouring in colouring books, but since my personality is to be creative & make things up, that's what I've always done in most areas I enjoy. But I had no patience to learn to draw when I was a child, so I didn't get very good at drawing, but I've designed almost every embrodery project I've ever done (I don't like using patterns or the stitches someone else decides, etc.) I've written songs, choreographed dances, written skits & dramatic sketches, poetry, stories...whatever I feel like doing. But all classical music training did limit my developing the ability to play music by ear since reading comes naturally to me.

[Woodland_Mom]

We love the coloring pages. It provides fine motor skills and creativity. When my boys (age 6 an 8) color, I usually read aloud material to them that relates to what they've just learned and are coloring. This gets them doing something enjoyable/creative and helps me to extend the lesson or "drive it home."