Previously I discussed how I believe that one can tell much about a child from the way that he or she colors. I discussed that kindergarten children first entering school have very different levels of coloring. Some of the children are expert colorers and others have had very little experience.
In this article I will continue the discussion about what one can tell from the way that a child colors a picture.
The way that a child colors comes in stages. In the beginning stage a child typically uses one color and moves his or her arms back and forth across the page ignoring the picture. In the next stage the child will take notice of the picture and attempt to color it. However the marks still go out of the lines. The child will then move to using different colors for the picture. A child that is in a well developed stage will stay in the lines and use realistic colors for the picture.
In my past experience a child that is a well developed colorer typically does higher academically.
In addition to being able to predict the child’s attention span, pride in work, and imagination form viewing the way a child colors, one can also tell much about a child’s fine motor skills.
When watching the group of children color, I observe how each child holds the crayon. I also observe the control that the child has over the crayon. Children with poor fine motor skills have a harder time controlling the crayon. These children may simply need practice. Some children have not had much experience coloring until they enter school.
These children will likely need some hand strengthening activities to help build muscles. They will also have trouble writing neatly.
Although one cannot completely predict how a child will do in school solely by the way that he or she colors, it is a good indicator.