“Artist are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.” Al Hirschfeld
When I began teaching, our then-superintendent of schools did not allow crayons in primary classrooms. It was painful! Fortunately, times (and our superintendent) have changed. We know that crayons are an essential tool for a child’s success in school. Any opportunity that a child has to scribble, color or draw will develop the essential fine motor skills needed for writing and keyboarding. Coloring draws a solid line to future writers. Daily access to crayons and coloring is important. However, staying inside the lines…unimportant.
Do your students have the opportunity to color or draw each day? Is there five minutes – after lunch or recess, perhaps – when your students can use their crayons? Give them a prompt or theme to which they can draw or color. The results will illustrate success.
(Access to these photographs does not constitute a transfer of copyright or a license for commercial use. The images are for personal use only. No portion of the images can be used without the expressed written permission of Michael B. Stanley, Jr.)
