Why is coloring an important skill?

[Aishe]

I ask that in all sincerity. DD just started kindergarten and is getting a lot of coloring as homework. The teacher keeps saying (in written materials) that coloring is an "important kindergarten skill" and I'm just trying to understand why. (And on that note, what exactly is a "kindergarten skill"?) In my professional life I have never been called upon to color, nor did it affect my SAT scores or college applications. Is it a fine motors skill thing?

We're only a few weeks into kindergarten and I'm already frustrated with the amount of busywork she has to do every night - and that's after a 6.5 hour school day - but I'm trying to keep an open mind for now. So does anyone want to offer a defense of coloring?

[crl]

DS had fine motor skills delays and coloring with a certain amount of accuracy was a goal on his IEP. I think teachers think of it as a building control, etc necessary for handwriting.

(Personally I never got too worked up about his coloring.)

Catherine

[SnuggleBuggles]

Learning colors
learning how to grip a crayon helps with writing

I am anti-homework in k though.

Beth

[wendmatt]

I think it is a lot to do with being able to hold and control a writing implement (crayon, pencil, pen). It builds eye hand coordination, fine motor skills, and helps in developing writing skills.
I don't have a defense of coloring, I think it helps but I think they can bore children to the point of not wanting to do it and it being a chore and not fun. Plus, I do not believe kindergartners should have homework.
Unfortunatley, there are a lot of kindergarten skills that children are expected to be able to complete by the end of the school year. I can't think of the list off hand but you can certainly look it up on line, it depends on your area also.

[jren]

My DD had OT for handwriting. She's always hated coloring - probably partly b/c it was really hard for her. Being able to control the crayon (holding it correctly) and color in the lines helps with fine motor skills needed for handwriting. If you really want it to do some good, tape the paper on the wall at face level and break all your crayons in half.

[mom2one]

Yes it is all about fine motor skills and strengthening them.

[Green_Tea]

As others said, it is about building fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also encourages attention to detail, which is a very important (and transferable) skill.

[justlearning]

Is your understanding that the teacher is giving the entire class coloring homework each night or just those kids who need extra practice?

What is your DD doing at school? Is she just scribbling over the entire page and all with one color or is she using appropriate colors but messy or is she doing a good job with the coloring?

If she's just scribbling, does it seem that it's because she doesn't want to focus long enough to color well or does it seem that she's lacking in fine motor skills?

If she's doing fine but all the kids are getting coloring homework, that seems crazy IMO. But if she does need to work more on her focus or on her fine motor skills, then I could see why the teacher is emphasizing it. In that case, perhaps you could make it like a fun activity she gets to do with you (you could sit down next to her and color your own picture) instead of torturous busywork.

[ABO Mama]

I've been helping in DS's classroom, and the ability of the students varies greatly. There are some kids who can write their name very well, with a perfect grip, and there are others who haven't a clue how to start the first letter in their name, and hold the pencil/crayon with a fist. The coloring practice is to encourage the kids to hold the pencil/crayon properly.

[reneed]

My DS is in prek and can write all of his letters and numbers really well but when it comes to coloring - wow - he is BAD. He scribbles and never stays in the lines. He just doesnt like it. On the other hand, ask him to write his letters and he is all over it. Coloring homework makes NO sense to me either

[Aishe]

Okay, it sounds like I need a bit of an attitude adjustment re: coloring. To be clear, the coloring homework is assigned to all the students. DD is not being singled out in any way.

I admit that dd is lousy at coloring, but I don't think it's because she's incapable. She just finds it boring and doesn't care about it. She spends hours - literally - every day writing and drawing so I think she's getting plenty of practice at holding writing implements. Her handwriting is not beautiful by any stretch, but it's quite legible, which seems appropriate for a kindergartner IMO. But Green Tea's point about attention to detail is a good one and something I should be mindful of, since I am not great about that myself and I can see similar tendencies in dd. I try to be fun and enthusiastic about the coloring, but she's not buying it. It's just that the coloring is on top of two pages of letter tracing/copying, as well as a math worksheet, and sometimes other activities. So it just seems kind of gratuitous and rather pointless.

[niccig]

Yes it is all about fine motor skills and strengthening them.

:yeahthat: but if you talk to my sister, who is a professor in art education, she HATES the emphasis of colouring within the lines. She understands the fine motor skills emphasis, but other things can be done for that. She disapproves of school activities that decrease creativity - doesn't like colouring books at all and would prefer kids draw the picture themselves. Same with when teachers insist on the sun being yellow in a picture, unless they're teaching the colours, it can be any colour you like, it's your picture.

[Green_Tea]

Okay, it sounds like I need a bit of an attitude adjustment re: coloring. To be clear, the coloring homework is assigned to all the students. DD is not being singled out in any way.

I admit that dd is lousy at coloring, but I don't think it's because she's incapable. She just finds it boring and doesn't care about it. She spends hours - literally - every day writing and drawing so I think she's getting plenty of practice at holding writing implements. Her handwriting is not beautiful by any stretch, but it's quite legible, which seems appropriate for a kindergartner IMO. But Green Tea's point about attention to detail is a good one and something I should be mindful of, since I am not great about that myself and I can see similar tendencies in dd. I try to be fun and enthusiastic about the coloring, but she's not buying it. It's just that the coloring is on top of two pages of letter tracing/copying, as well as a math worksheet, and sometimes other activities. So it just seems kind of gratuitous and rather pointless.

While I DO think coloring, and practicing it, is really important, I don't think homework in K is appropriate AT ALL. If I were in your shoes I wouldn't feel bad at all about simply declining to do it.

[crl]

Since your child already voluntarily does a lot of pen to paper tasks, I don't know that coloring is as important for her. And I agree that I dislike homework in the early grades and your dd has too much IMO. I would consider talking to the teacher about it.

Catherine

[crl]

:yeahthat: but if you talk to my sister, who is a professor in art education, she HATES the emphasis of colouring within the lines. She understands the fine motor skills emphasis, but other things can be done for that. She disapproves of school activities that decrease creativity - doesn't like colouring books at all and would prefer kids draw the picture themselves. Same with when teachers insist on the sun being yellow in a picture, unless they're teaching the colours, it can be any colour you like, it's your picture.


Yeah, i did the whole no coloring books, etc thing. So it killed me when school started pushing it and then ds came home talking about which colors were pretty and how he was only going to use the pretty colors.

Catherine

[jren]

Yeah, i did the whole no coloring books, etc thing. So it killed me when school started pushing it and then ds came home talking about which colors were pretty and how he was only going to use the pretty colors.

Catherine

Yep, my DD would color "rainbows" on all her pictures - so instead of the sun being yellow, she's do stripes of every color, and do this in every section of the picture. She got made fun of by other kids in K (grrr). I told her it was creative and I liked the way she did it better!