Developing fine motor skills and creativity in children

The simple acts of drawing and coloring are  literally childs’ play, however, they both play an important role in a child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development. Like no other activity, drawing  and coloring allows young children to express emotions, experience autonomy and build their confidence. Drawing and coloring are also excellent pre-cursors to developing writing skills because the toddler is honing his or her fine motor skills which are essential when learning to write.

Parents and caregivers can promote drawing and coloring  as a way to improve physical, social, emotional and cognitive development - and to have a lot of fun along the way too. Here’s a few pointers:

1.Provide kids with nontoxic materials, blank sheets of white paper and coloring pages.

2. Model drawing. Show children that you like to draw and color too -  make designs but do not show your children what they  should draw.

3. Encourage all drawing and coloring  efforts by talking about the beautiful colors, the lines and  shapes the child has made.

4. Rather than ask “What is it?,” say “Tell me everything about your drawing”. Asking “What is it?” suggests to the child that he may have failed to draw the image correctly.

5. Talk about concepts like  thin, thick, wide, narrow, dark, light, edge, shape, contour, etc.

6. Display their art in a prominent place - such as the kitchen fridge, in their room and in places where visitors to your home will see them. Point them out to visitors, friends and relatives - the praise fthey will receive for the work will boost a child’s self esteeem and confidence.

7. Give children the freedom to choose the subjects of their drawings and of their coloring sheets. For example little boys  may enjoy coloring images of  cars, trucks or a favourite character such as Pokemon -  and at sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find  Pikachu colouring book pages. Little girls on the other hand prefer images from fairy tales such as Princess pictures - choose whatever pleases your child to encourage their enthusiasm for the activity and their interest in it. 

8.  Always supervise younger children while they draw and color - crayons pose a choking risk.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Related posts:

1. Child development - drawing and coloring with toddlers To the casual observer a child who is drawing or coloring in,  is just scribbling. The marks seem to be haphazard, almost meaningless. But there...
2. The Importance of Sleep and Routine for Young Children Quality sleep can fill you with vitality, and nobody needs more energy than a child does. Without adequate nighttime sleep, little ones can exhibit behavioral...
3. Feeding Your Baby - Birth To Three Knowing when to start feeding your baby solid foods and when to start potty training can leave new parents confused. Many questions pop up in...
4. All rise for Disney’s ninth princess All rise - as Disney introduces the latest member of its Royal Family… Princess Tiana is the protagonist of Disney’s upcoming 2009 film The Princess...