Colouring helps boost your child’s development in these five key areas
Plus, find out where you can score FREE colouring books!
By Prudence Reid, Primary School Teacher and Educator, Lorien Novalis Steiner School
Children are growing and learning many new skills during their early childhood development stage.
As they are beginning to explore the world independently, it is important for parents to encourage the use of fun and simple activities and tools to aid this growth, especially those that use the hands and fingers.
While educational innovations have their place, on many occasions in the early years it is more valuable to take a step back from modern technology, get back to basics and use traditional tools.
As a primary school teacher, it’s so important for me to see my students confidently explore and engage with learning experiences in the classroom. Like many other school teachers in Australia, we have been seeing a decline in fundamental fine motor skills as the use of touchscreen devices continues to increase both in classrooms and for at-home learning.
Handwriting, drawing, painting, cutting, pasting and crafting are wonderful and accessible opportunities for children to develop fine motor skills, laying a foundation for their education as they progress into the upper grades.
Colouring in is a great starting point. It’s simple and effective and all you need is a crayon or pencil and a piece of paper, every household can likely find these simple items.
It was heartening to recently come across a new initiative from family retailer Best &Less giving away free colouring books instore to encourage the development of fine motor skills. This is a wonderful way to give back to the community and support young children and families in their learning.
Head into Best&Less to receive a free 56-page colouring book.
Five benefits of colouring in for children’s development are:
1. Creativity
Colouring books boost creative thinking. Kids have the freedom to stay between the lines or create their own picture on a page. Don’t worry about whether it is messy, if they are holding their pencil and crayon and gainfully employed, magic is happening.
2. Improve fine motor skills
Colouring helps to improve vital fine motor skills. Children develop these skills from an early age through activities that focus on using the muscles in their fingers, hands and wrists. It is important to implement tools such as colouring books for development from an early age to support learning. This will have a direct impact on their ability to master the skill of handwriting in later years.
Just as adults benefit from mindful activities, like colouring, so do children.
3. Mindfulness
Just as adults benefit from mindful activities, so do children. Focusing on a task like colouring in can create moments of ‘flow’. A state of ‘flow’ is mindfulness at its purist, which in turn relieves anxiety and has a calming effect. This trains the body so it can recognise a state of calm and get better at revisiting it in stressful moments. Any relaxation-based coping mechanisms to manage anxious thoughts and feelings for the future are beneficial.
4. Concentration
Sitting and colouring requires self-control and concentration. Two very important skills in the classroom and for everyday life. Long car rides and dinners out are often more enjoyable for all with the discipline to sit still.
5. Confidence
What is better than seeing a child proud of the task they have completed? I see this in the classroom all the time. Colouring is a small achievement that will make a positive impact on a child’s confidence.
