Coloring Connects Both Sides of the Brain, Experts Recommend it for Children
Although there is an increasing emphasis on technology in America’s classrooms, studies show that students who study art are much more likely to achieve high academic standards and more likely to have excellent attendance at school. Children who can work independently on art projects at home such as coloring, creating small sculptural works out of dough or clay, and other self-directed creative activities demonstrate a higher readiness for preschool and kindergarten.
VPK school readiness, or Voluntary Prekindergarten readiness, consists of a few skills that children can happily build at home through art and creative play. Almost half of the kindergarten teachers in a recent survey said that their students needed to be better at following directions, knowing their basic numbers and math skills, and being able to work independently. Art and music can enhance the learning process.
Creative and competent children tend to do better in school overall, and studies show that students who take part in art, music, or dance regularly are more likely to meet high academic goals and to win awards for their participation in science and math fairs. The good news for parents is that their children can grow and learn to follow a positive academic path from a young age by the development of a simple skill: coloring.
Coloring has garnered international attention recently as the newest relaxation technique for stressed-out adults, and scientific studies back up that claim. Not only does sitting and coloring connect both sides of the brain, experts report, promoting whole-brain function in people as young as one year old, but enhanced small motor skills, vision, and a measurable decrease in stress have all been measured and reported in children and adults.
VPK school readiness must also consist of basic concepts for children such as numbers and the alphabet. By the age of four, children should know at least the letters in their names and how to count to ten. Coloring books that include the letters of the alphabet and the first ten numbers can also be used as a way to fast-track young student’s learning abilities, making them more likely to succeed in school as they get older.