Coloring in is one of the main starting points of creativity in children. Being able to expressed ones self with a piece of paper and colored pencils or crayons is a great thing to be able to do and remember, it leads onto being able to learn other brand new skills. Quick tip! If your child has difficulty holding a colored pencil then try them with crayons first. Crayons are easier to hold because they are larger and softer. But as your childs skills and abilities progress they will prefer the greater accuracy of using colored pencils.
Coloring in a Doodle Book. You can do this very effectively by getting an artists sketch pad. This is a pad of blank sheets of paper used by artists to plan their paintings or creative work on, much like a writers rough draft. Once you have your pad, take a pencil and start to doodle. Make lines, circles, shapes, what ever at the time makes you feel good. Then color in the spaces within the doodles. Even if you think you are not a very creative person you will feel productive and relaxed after a few doodle your noodle calming sessions.
Coloring is a great way to bond. Ask your friends over for some wine, cheese and coloring. Perhaps at first they might look at you with skeptical eyes and doubt; but hand over a fresh sheet of paper, some vibrant or glitter colored pens and in just minutes you will not be able to pry those colors out of their fingers. Soon you will be visiting easily, looking over at each-others masterpieces from time to time to admire their selection of colors. You will begin to feel like you have time-traveled back into grade 2 and you do not really want to leave. Coloring is freeing and has no expectations. The beautiful thing about this craft is that there is no pressure to finish, to use a certain color or even to stay in the lines!!! There is absolute freedom involved in those precious hours where you just get to color.
