The other day someone told me how well this little 4 year old girl they had met was so different from my 4 year old daughter.
They told me that she sat and colored an entire coloring book page inside the lines. My 4 year old daughter can't sit and color a coloring book page inside the lines and neither could her sister at that age. Ellie at 8 barely does it now.
I've been thinking about this the past couple days....why can't my kids color inside the lines? I was wrong, I was taking it as they couldn't, but it's not skill, it's interest.
Then last night as I watched them I realized it all. Coloring books are boring. I believe we own some, somewhere but my kids have litte interest in coloring books. This is because I give my kids much more than coloring books. I give them free access to a wide variety of craft supplies and even items that might not be considered craft supplies but they use them anyway!
Last night and for the last 3 Halloweens Ellie (8) drew a face on her pumpkin then carved her entire pumpkin by herself. Then she made a stethoscope to play doctor with the cat. Elyza (4) also drew a face on her pumpkin and I helped her carve it holding my hand over her's on the knife, as she is only 4 and lacks strength to cut through a pumpkin.
Children by nature are creators, inventors, and explorers, and these abilities need the nourishment of creative are experiences. It's not art unless it provides an opportunity for children to use their ideas, thoughts, and feelings in their own ways.
The development of the ability to think creatively is more important than any art product a child can produce. Children express their ideas freely and creatively if adults do not cause them to be inhibited. Those who interfere with children’s creative expression do so because of a lack of awareness and understanding of children’s art. Ways in which teachers and parents interfere are providing children with coloring books, Hector pictures, patterns, and pictures to copy. These so-called art activities have had a devastating effect on children and their art. They prevent a child from expressing individual ideas, thoughts, and feelings: from solving problems, and from developing initiative, self-confidence, imagination, and originality.
Coloring books or hectographed pictures are sometimes used not only for art but also as a learning device in many subject areas of the curriculum. In such activities a child may have a choice of the color used, but even sometimes this is dictated. In this type of activity, children have neither choices to make or thinking to do. Neither do they have control over the shapes in which they work. They are just asked to obey…to color inside the limits of the outlined of printed drawings.
My children not only color, but think outside of the lines, they are innovative thinkers.. They have retained their own imaginations, something every child is born with but often removed from them with instructions on how to do things "right." I am happy my kids don't color in coloring books. They are not lacking an important skill because they don't, they are bursting with skills that are taken away from so many children. Why would they sit and color in a coloring book when they can have so much more?
They told me that she sat and colored an entire coloring book page inside the lines. My 4 year old daughter can't sit and color a coloring book page inside the lines and neither could her sister at that age. Ellie at 8 barely does it now.
I've been thinking about this the past couple days....why can't my kids color inside the lines? I was wrong, I was taking it as they couldn't, but it's not skill, it's interest.
Then last night as I watched them I realized it all. Coloring books are boring. I believe we own some, somewhere but my kids have litte interest in coloring books. This is because I give my kids much more than coloring books. I give them free access to a wide variety of craft supplies and even items that might not be considered craft supplies but they use them anyway!
Last night and for the last 3 Halloweens Ellie (8) drew a face on her pumpkin then carved her entire pumpkin by herself. Then she made a stethoscope to play doctor with the cat. Elyza (4) also drew a face on her pumpkin and I helped her carve it holding my hand over her's on the knife, as she is only 4 and lacks strength to cut through a pumpkin.
Children by nature are creators, inventors, and explorers, and these abilities need the nourishment of creative are experiences. It's not art unless it provides an opportunity for children to use their ideas, thoughts, and feelings in their own ways.
The development of the ability to think creatively is more important than any art product a child can produce. Children express their ideas freely and creatively if adults do not cause them to be inhibited. Those who interfere with children’s creative expression do so because of a lack of awareness and understanding of children’s art. Ways in which teachers and parents interfere are providing children with coloring books, Hector pictures, patterns, and pictures to copy. These so-called art activities have had a devastating effect on children and their art. They prevent a child from expressing individual ideas, thoughts, and feelings: from solving problems, and from developing initiative, self-confidence, imagination, and originality.
Coloring books or hectographed pictures are sometimes used not only for art but also as a learning device in many subject areas of the curriculum. In such activities a child may have a choice of the color used, but even sometimes this is dictated. In this type of activity, children have neither choices to make or thinking to do. Neither do they have control over the shapes in which they work. They are just asked to obey…to color inside the limits of the outlined of printed drawings.
My children not only color, but think outside of the lines, they are innovative thinkers.. They have retained their own imaginations, something every child is born with but often removed from them with instructions on how to do things "right." I am happy my kids don't color in coloring books. They are not lacking an important skill because they don't, they are bursting with skills that are taken away from so many children. Why would they sit and color in a coloring book when they can have so much more?
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