Guest Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) Did i just read that colouring in is a skill that needs to be taught?? Why?? please tell me where that appears in the eyfs!! there is definately more to life.... I owe it to my children to offer more than a colouring sheet, thats why we dont have them. Edited March 7, 2011 by Suer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 suer i think you could easily argue that the eyfs does indeed say improve fine motor skills /use approriate colours for a purpose etc etc and this may be one way of doing it (even if you feel its not for your setting).This has been a really interesting discussion...i decided to re do my creativity station over the weekend and added loads of new resources including some rather lovely coloured papers etc...guess what the children went for....yes sorry it was indeed the colouring pictures the morning group consisted of mainly girls who tended to 'follow the rules' showing lots of accuracy but less creativity... the afternoon was a more mixed group some coloured, some added to the pictures and others created something completely different...but today all but two of the children who came to the area used the pictures. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next week...will they continue to use them or are they just a 'safety net' to start to springboard other ideas?i'll keep an eye on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Wow, the debate continues! I then suggested that we appraise the actual images the colouring books / sheets provided for the children. We found that they portrayed stereotypical ideas, boys were often drawn as boisterous, angry, girls all smiles and 'pretty'. Perfectly proportioned body forms with defined waists, slim legs, etc.I asked, where are all the different sizes of the body form? Where are any disabilities portrayed? Do all girls have long hair and bunches or plaits? Do all boys wear baseball caps and play at fighting or sports? The animal pictures tended to be from mainly one view point, side view with head to the left, tail to the right- do all animals always stand this way? Pictures of people from other cultures were particularly stereotypical. Flowers all stand up straight with a uniform eight petals all sticking out symmetrically from the perfectly formed centre circle, How many flowers look like that in your garden? As for skills of colouring in, by providing a picture to colour are we not saying that we don't value the childs ability to place lines on a paper, in whatever form they choose, to then colour in as they choose. Or are we not valuing their marks if they don't depict a certain form to colour in? Some may say that pictures of objects, animals etc that children have never seen is useful to increase their knowledge of such things, yet for me, at preschool age, it is the concrete experiences, what is relevant to the child that counts. If a child has never seen a Zebra, what is the point of colouring one in? Is this the most relevant way to learn the 'Z' sound maybe? I don't think so (especially as there is not much to colour in a black and white printed Zebra). Peggy, do you not think that this is the fault of the picture book manufacturers, though, rather than the sheets themselves? Perhaps there is an opportunity here for someone to produce a non stereotyped colouring book - all those images you mention are ones that are very hard for a setting to cover, particularly those in a very rural non multicultural area like mine. On the second point, we had a wonderful visit from some owls, and after the visit, as (a very small part) of their response, the children used pre-printed pictures of owls and created collages, coloured them in, etc. It was useful to be able to give them images of the specific types of owls which had visited - a hugely diverse variety which I could never have drawn myself. I think 'colouring in' is definitely a skill, because it's so different to mark making, e.g. the loops that Peggy describes. In order to say within the lines, you need really good eye to hand co-ordination, which is definitely not the same for free flow mark making. From my own experience, girls tend to enjoy colouring in more than boys, and similarly tend to have neater hand writing than boys as well. (Sorry, sweeping generalisation but I think most educators would agree it's true). So, perhaps the colouring in allows them to practice the eye to hand control that in turn gives them neater writing? Baby and bath water do come to mind ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have loved reading through all these posts. It's funny how a piece of paper with a simple picture on can stir up such strong emotions. When I taught in KS2 I was amused at how even in Y6 both boys and girls looked forward to wet playtimes when they could just sit and colour in if they wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I love colouring in sheets..............................I love lovely blank peices of paper. I love button boards where you match the colours .............................. I love button boards for the children to create their own thing. I love lego with instructions of how to make a fab car................................... I love offering lego for the children to make their own masterpeices....... but......What I love the most is offering the children CHOICE activities that offer fun and skills in every area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 We are talking about 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 they need large gross motor movements etc to be able to write. How is colouring in a sheet going to give them neater writing and i really do not think we should be going down this road, it not appropriate - sorry my opinion not meant to upset anyone stiffling creativity through colouring sheets is not the route we as a setting chooses to do, creating creativity through enabling our areas is where we would rather go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Love bluestar's analogy. Love to see such a lively debate. As someone who makes my living through a creative profession, this is a fascinating discussion. Gross AND fine motor surely Suer? Ducks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Blimey! I had no idea!!! We DO have sheets knocking about, some at the mark making table in a basket (along with alot of other resources), often dug out or printed in response to the childrens interests or requests. Some use them, some don't. I think the important thing is that we would never prescribe how they should be used. I would haul anyone in the office who suggested a child 'stay within the lines' or use the 'right' colour. At the same time I wouldn't consider banning them as I think it's all about choice too. Regardless of the 'outcome' each child should be made to feel as though their creation is the most beautiful ever! I'll never forget watching all 3 of my children making the transition from early years to reception/yr 1/yr 2 and being devastated by their reactions to their homework etc because they suddenly felt it 'wasn't good enough'. The impact of this on their confidence and self esteem is far more important to me than whether they can stay within the lines or write in perfect cursive font at such a young age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 ok update on my creativity station today...used by about 1/3rd of the group this morning and nearly half this afternoon....today no one used the coluring sheets! so whats that about then???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 ok update on my creativity station today...used by about 1/3rd of the group this morning and nearly half this afternoon....today no one used the coluring sheets! so whats that about then???? I honestly don't know. Could be that they've 'been there, done that' and have decided they prefer the other things you have on offer. I've largely stayed out of this debate, however your 'experiment' sounds a bit like my worksheet research, which you may or may not have taken part in. I used the EEL observation sheets to ascertain whether children spend longer and were more or less engaged with worksheet activities than in more 'hands on' activities. I also carried out detailed observations of them doing the various activities to see what they did and how they did it. Perhaps you could do something similar to ascertain what they are getting from using the colouring sheets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 well i'll update you on thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gezabel Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Ok when is a colouring picture not a colouring picture? When you add a few colouring sheets to the other resources available and along comes a 4 yr old and this is what happened Picked up a colouring sheet and said 'ohhhhhhhhh look we've got some new pictures ohhhhhhhh' sat down and picked up a crayon, poised it over the colouring sheet. looked deep in thought, made no attempt to colour and changed the crayon for a pair of scissors. Cut out a sledge from the colouring picture, stuck it on a piece of card, collaged it with glittzy material and then got a felt pen and drew a person sitting in the sledge I hadn't said anythign to the children, i just added a random selection of colouring pictures but clearly they don't necessarily have to be used for colouring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 of course fine motor movement but first comes gross including strong upper body and shoulders do some write dance, big movements painting with water and rollers as i said before cooking, hanging onto a rope swing, climbing and so on our fine motor comes from creating with tiny flowers leaves and twigs we have collected , using tweezers to pick up shells and arrange, cutting and sticking photo's to make a collage, using different media and materials including clay writing letters and putting them into envelopes which we then walk and post. undoing and doing up nuts and bolts, children able to use the clipboards and pens left around the setting to 'write' this is just a tiny bit there is so much more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredbear Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Oh Dorinda where are you. I would so love to hear what you think of all the replies and the discussions that have taken place following your initial post, i certainly have read, listened and evaluated all the suggestions and thoughts. A big thank you to all for being so honest, whilst respecting other peoples differing views and posts. I personally will certainly be investigating this topic in more depth and will let you know of my findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I missed this thread! How? Well I hate them. I still get thoroughly frustrated when I go even on the black outline when I colour in. I always have and it drives me nuts. I can draw a circle and straight lines without rule, I can draw a symmetrical picture using my eye, but I cant colour a picture and thats really why I dont like thm. I do believe they could be relaxing and give time for chatting and being alone with ones own thoughts though. I take Peggys point about the appalling pictures too. I used to flick through to pictures I liked when I was small and when my children were small. No boys with fishing rods and girls with tea sets for us! I bought a book called 'The anti colouring book' which allowed colouring but the pages were mostly blank with just a squiggle or a circle or part of someone or a scene. There was usually a comment at the bottom of the page 'draw what the people are looking at', 'what is this line?' 'design a stamp'. The idea was to finish off the picture using your imagination. My art teacher used to buy paint by numbers kits and change the colours around, quite a difficult thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Oh Rea isn't it strange how that anti-colouring book thing sounds like it would have been my worst nightmare as a child! (Though I can appreciate how it's an excellent idea and one that many children would love). I loved colouring in pictures because my drawings never looked like the real thing but I was a very neat colourer and liked to aspire to be artistic. If I went out the lines I tried again and again until I made one perfect. I was so proud of my masterpieces and I would definitely want other children who feel the same as me to have the opportunity to experience that, hence why I do provide colouring in sheets for the children in my class. I'd be very interested to know whether any children who wouldn't usually do creative activities would actually go and do the colouring in sheets in anyone's setting once they knew they were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Wow, the debate continues! Peggy, do you not think that this is the fault of the picture book manufacturers, though, rather than the sheets themselves? Perhaps there is an opportunity here for someone to produce a non stereotyped colouring book - all those images you mention are ones that are very hard for a setting to cover, particularly those in a very rural non multicultural area like mine. I wonder what a book with non stereotypical images would look like? Abstract shapes formed from lines, curves, circles? A 2- 4 yr old can draw these themselves and then choose to colour them in if that's what they want to express. On the second point, we had a wonderful visit from some owls, and after the visit, as (a very small part) of their response, the children used pre-printed pictures of owls and created collages, coloured them in, etc. It was useful to be able to give them images of the specific types of owls which had visited - a hugely diverse variety which I could never have drawn myself. I took my children to a local wildlife park where they met an owl, unfortunately they couldn't touch it for fear of flight !! Afterwards I provided feathers, twigs, and pens and the children produced fantastic representations of what they had just experienced. We also took photo's of the owl which were printed, cut and and used to make a display. they placed the owl photo's, sitting on the twigs and some they added extra feathers to make wings to appear that the owl was in flight. One child broke the twigs into 10 small lengths and asked me to help her 'fix' the twigs to her fingers, which I did with cellotape. She then 'flew' around the room waving her 'owl' claws. I think 'colouring in' is definitely a skill, because it's so different to mark making, e.g. the loops that Peggy describes. In order to say within the lines, you need really good eye to hand co-ordination, which is definitely not the same for free flow mark making. I coloured in my loops once I had drawn them. Mark making AND colouring in without the need for colouring books. From my own experience, girls tend to enjoy colouring in more than boys, and similarly tend to have neater hand writing than boys as well. (Sorry, sweeping generalisation but I think most educators would agree it's true). So, perhaps the colouring in allows them to practice the eye to hand control that in turn gives them neater writing? I personally think that fine motor skills is just one aspect of the many skills required to enable neat hand writing, I would argue that maybe boys hand writing is less neat than girls (if this generalisation is true) because boys prefer more active ways to communicate and express themselves than the still, sedate style required for neat hand writing. Peggy Baby and bath water do come to mind ... I don't quite understand the use of this quote...., by throwing out colouring books what could fail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I love colouring in sheets..............................I love lovely blank peices of paper.I love button boards where you match the colours .............................. I love button boards for the children to create their own thing. I love lego with instructions of how to make a fab car................................... I love offering lego for the children to make their own masterpeices....... but......What I love the most is offering the children CHOICE activities that offer fun and skills in every area A child may think............. I love my mum, even if she smacks me.................................I love my mum, when she hugs me I love TV, even though I may hear swearing.....................................I love TV, when it's CBeebies ( there was a time when smacking was thought to be an appropriate disciplinary method, there was a time when swearing on TV was bleeped out) Can a 2-4 yr old differentiate what is most appropriate? Does the fact that something is liked and accessed by a child always mean that it is appropriate? I love offering choices, but within those choices offered, my considerations are based on my assessment of what I believe to be the most effective media for the 'creative' developmental levels and needs of the children. Not just in terms of knowledge and skills, but also in terms of attitude...what 'hidden' messages am I conveying with the media I am providing the children to choose from? I would not like someone to add marks, or finish my drawings / creative expression, so why would I want someone to start my drawings or creative expression ? ( which is what, in essence, a printed picture within a colouring book is ) The main ethos of my preschools creative provision was to offer experiences that valued each child's individuality, enabled independent, free thinking, creative minds, to celebrate their innocence ( which is so short lived). Creative expression which isn't exposed to adults' more conformed ideas produced in 2D printed form. To me, I feel that colouring in books are just too conformist, restrictive and unimaginative to enable preschool aged children to develop their own creative thoughts. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I missed this thread! How? Well I hate them. I still get thoroughly frustrated when I go even on the black outline when I colour in. I always have and it drives me nuts. I can draw a circle and straight lines without rule, I can draw a symmetrical picture using my eye, but I cant colour a picture and thats really why I dont like thm. I do believe they could be relaxing and give time for chatting and being alone with ones own thoughts though. I take Peggys point about the appalling pictures too. I used to flick through to pictures I liked when I was small and when my children were small. No boys with fishing rods and girls with tea sets for us! I bought a book called 'The anti colouring book' which allowed colouring but the pages were mostly blank with just a squiggle or a circle or part of someone or a scene. There was usually a comment at the bottom of the page 'draw what the people are looking at', 'what is this line?' 'design a stamp'. The idea was to finish off the picture using your imagination. My art teacher used to buy paint by numbers kits and change the colours around, quite a difficult thing to do. I remember hearing about, searching out and buying The Anti colouring in book, my initial thoughts were, this is good, it inspires imagination, but then I actually sat down with it pen in hand and thought I'd have a go at one about outer space, if I remember correctly it was to finish off a picture, to create an image of an Alien...................................................Hmmm, creative juices dried up...........................although not in the same style as a usual colouring book, each page had a theme/ a topic, a hint of what subject matter to think about. So, personally I found it was still too adult led. When I want to be creative I want it all to come from me, my inner thoughts, memories, ideas, expressions, etc....My current context and not led or directed by others. All I want provided are a range of materials / resources to use. I think I am just anti conformist, I'm one of those people who likes to devise another use for items than what it is originally intended for. To buck the trend. I wonder if I'd think this way if my parents could have afforded to supply me with lots of colouring books and colouring pens when I was young? Would I have learnt that things are as others represent them, rather than how I choose to represent them to myself. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 So beautifully put Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Having read through all this i still do not find myself being persuaded that they do have a place ... Since this came up I have been searching and searching for a story I was given when training and that was ' a long time ago; now... to illustrate how creativity can be lost with colouring books.. It was the same lines as the little boy and the flower... and may have been an adaptation of it or similar, but cannot find it anywhere.. it vividly stuck with em so will try to retell.. A little boy loved to draw horses, all kinds, big, little, blue purple, green, standing laying and spent ages enjoying his drawings... Gran, noticing his love of this gave him a colouring book of horses... he still liked to draw his own but Gran liked him to colour the ones she had given him, so he did, purple and green etc.. but Gran said you don't get them in those colours you only get brown black etc.. so he began to do Grans horses in colours she likes .. and then she commented on going over the lines... well you get the picture... he stopped drawing horses as his didn't look like the ones in Grans book, he could never draw them as well as they were drawn, and he stopped colouring because they only had boring dull colours and he stopped all drawing and colouring all togehter... I have never used them in a setting and I still have not heard any real argument as to why they are better than other methods to gain the same skill... all the reasons for doing can be gained in other ways.. and I still fail to see why we 'have to teach the children to colour' and what benefit it gives to them, when will they really need to use it . I wonder when and at what age the time will be when they need to sit and colour something... I cannot ever remember 'needing' this skill until I was in senior school doing geography etc and had to draw all the land masses, countries freehand and all that went with it... needless to say these days it is all computer based and I cannot imagine anyone needing to do all the drawing and colouring we had to do in 'the dark ages' for our 'O levels'! I have the same views as Peggy on this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Inge, I don't think anyone meant that the skills can only be learnt by using colouring pictures, simply that it's one way of learning them. I think that we should offer as many ways as we can for children to learn and let them choose which way they prefer. I would never insist that children use colouring sheets or dictate how they use them and I can see both sides of the argument but I believe that they can be beneficial when used in the right way. As with most things it comes down to personal choice and knowing what is right for our particular children. This has been a really interesting debate and I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses. We all obviously have different views and different ways of using resources. I mainly like to use colouring sheets as a relaxing activity for the children that enjoy them, rather than as an actual learning tool but I've seen improvements in fine motor skills in the children that choose to use them. These skills can be taught in a million different ways and this is just one of them but it's one that I've found that some children really enjoy and don't realise that they are actually learning anything from doing it, which is a bonus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Oh Rea isn't it strange how that anti-colouring book thing sounds like it would have been my worst nightmare as a child! (Though I can appreciate how it's an excellent idea and one that many children would love). I loved colouring in pictures because my drawings never looked like the real thing but I was a very neat colourer and liked to aspire to be artistic. If I went out the lines I tried again and again until I made one perfect. I was so proud of my masterpieces and I would definitely want other children who feel the same as me to have the opportunity to experience that, hence why I do provide colouring in sheets for the children in my class. I'd be very interested to know whether any children who wouldn't usually do creative activities would actually go and do the colouring in sheets in anyone's setting once they knew they were there. As my other comments show, I am anti colouring books, but reading yours and other comments has made me think about the child who may struggle with an empty page, who may derive a sense of comfort, and/ or pride in doing or completing a picture they have coloured in. I've asked myself how I would provide for such a child's needs without stifling their creative development. So, given your reasoning in favour of colouring books; I loved colouring in pictures because my drawings never looked like the real thing, ( and drawings in colouring books do??) I would, in all aspects of the child's endeavours VALUE all they attempt and build up their self esteem to believe that all they have to offer is worthy. I would provide real life objects for them to touch, smell, explore, view from many positional perspectives, for example a flower, or any other items relevant to the child's current interest and IF the child wanted to have a go at drawing it ( which I would find out through conversation) then this desire would be encouraged, valuing the child's process and finished representation. We need to remember that 2-4 yr olds are still in the discovery stage of which media best enables them to express their ideas, representations. It is a stage of trial with (no) error, where error means you are not wrong in terms of failure just not yet discovered all the creative media available to you. We should also remember that when a child starts to draw, for whatever reason motivated them to initially pick up pen and paper, the original idea can evolve into a new idea, so they may have originally felt like drawing their cat but as they started they thought about the fluffy red wool ball their cat likes to play with so chooses a red crayon and represents this ball on the page on top of the beginnings of their drawing of their cat......and so the picture develops..........a creative work of art that looks to the child to be a very real representation of his/ her ideas, thought processes. To an outsider it looks like a black circle with two triangles (ears) half covered by a red blob that isn't quite formally in a circle shape. Another of your reasoning's; If I went out the lines I tried again and again until I made one perfect. I was so proud of my masterpieces This struck me as possibly being a schema; maybe enclosing; filling-in; therefore I would look to see if this schema was apparent in other aspects of the childs play. I would find ways to exploit this schema within the setting for the child. In the creative area I would have various sized boxes with various types of paper inside that could be coloured, or I may role model drawing random patterns on paper, one of which could never be the same as the last, and then colour in some and leave some blank showing that blank is as beautiful as coloured, rather than provide a drawing from a colouring in book which possibly compels the child to think that the picture requires the child to 'add colour'. From these discussions I have learnt that I need to be more perceptive as to why children choose particular learning styles within the creative area, and how best to provide for these styles without compromising what is creative development. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I would, in all aspects of the child's endeavours VALUE all they attempt and build up their self esteem to believe that all they have to offer is worthy. I would provide real life objects for them to touch, smell, explore, view from many positional perspectives, for example a flower, or any other items relevant to the child's current interest and IF the child wanted to have a go at drawing it ( which I would find out through conversation) then this desire would be encouraged, valuing the child's process and finished representation. This struck me as possibly being a schema; maybe enclosing; filling-in; therefore I would look to see if this schema was apparent in other aspects of the childs play. I would find ways to exploit this schema within the setting for the child. In the creative area I would have various sized boxes with various types of paper inside that could be coloured, or I may role model drawing random patterns on paper, one of which could never be the same as the last, and then colour in some and leave some blank showing that blank is as beautiful as coloured, rather than provide a drawing from a colouring in book which possibly compels the child to think that the picture requires the child to 'add colour'. I have found all your comments very interesting, particularly this one. It was not anyone else who made me feel like my drawings were not good enough (quite the opposite) but myself. I did enjoy creating my own things as well, but not from scratch. I hated doing that and still do, not because I wasn't encouraged to but because that was the type of child I was. What I liked was following instructions from a book to make something if it was something that interested me and colouring in pre-drawn pictures. I doubt this was because my creative development was stiffled, just because I was a very logical child rather than a creative one. I do remember doing those loop drawings you describe too and colouring those in. In my opinion (since I know myself very well) it wasn't a lack of self-esteem issue nor a scheme (I had to be in the mood to colour in), merely that I was a complete perfectionist and derived great enjoyment from colouring pictures! On the other hand I think this was probably something I would apply to an older child rather than to the 2-4 year olds most people in this thread are referring to. I obviously don't remember what I liked at that age and I am sure their are far better ways of encouraging creativity at that time of life. When children get older though (probably KS1) I think by then they are old enough and experienced enough to know whether they like to create from scratch or whether they would rather colour in and that's why I offer both experiences in my classroom. I have children who never colour in, children who flit between the two depending on their mood and one boy who is obsessed with colouring in. He'd do it all day if I let him, he's also a very neat writer so there may well be a link there (not that I'm saying colouring in sheets are the way to encourage neat writing, just that in his case he has clearly coloured in so much he has developed his own fine motor skills!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I have found this thread a really interesting read, and it reflects, I feel, the best of the ethos of the FSF..a variety of viewpoints from differing perspectives, well articulated, and passionate. I am sure that many readers,those who have contributed and those who haven't will have been inspired to reflect on their own views of the issue of colouring pictures. Some will perhaps have modified their view, some will have further justified their view, some may still be undecided one way or the other. I have been musing over this during the past few days. It appears to me that those who dislike the colouring of pictures aren't objecting to the actual practice of colouring.. for those same people are not objecting to a child drawing their own picture and then colouring it. Many of us do colour thing in our lives at some point..maybe if we are artists in some way, maybe we are decorating an object, bedroom, something for the garden, and yes, even painting our nails. I recently made a plant pot for my mum (from a mould I have to say..does that mean I'm uncreative?) and I painted it by hand..and shapes and patterns I painted I had to colour in, using the right colours, in the right amount and in the right way to get the effect I wanted. So, if it isn't the actual colouring per se that is the problem, what is it? Is it then the fact that the pictures are pre drawn? Ok, so pre drawn pictures exist in all sorts of books, yet we still expose children to books. Following a pre drawn pattern happen in many craft activities whether it be painting pots I mentioned earlier (for which there were many stencils I could have used), glass painting; sewing, decorating and so on. I cross stitch. When I first started, I followed patterns, most of the time I still do, does that mean I'm not creative? Does that make my skill less valid or important as someone who designs their own. I also do this for smaller projects, but I only developed confidence to do this after I had made several 'copies' of ready designs. Getting back to illustrations, we cannot always show children the real thing, does that mean we should remove all pictures of things that children have never seen.. how many chidlren have actually seen an elephant for example? Should we never show them a picture of one (yes we can show them photos, tv clips etc too). Do we actually have any evidence that colouring a picture, stifles creativity, or is that just our assumption? Such evidence would be impossible to collect for there are so many variables, so what is it that actually leads us to make that statement? And is that statement the same for chidlren who colour a picture occasionally and for those who's only access to colour is through this means? (which noone here is suggesting). If colouring a picture leads to what I used to call 'the knitting circle' (the social chit chat that happens when an group are doing an activity of this kind), then why is it wrong, especially if it encourages chidlren to talk. Hmm, I have many questions, perhaps not too many answers, but do keep debating this, its really interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 That's a really interesting train of thought, Mundia. Really given food for thought there. I think that 'pre-drawn picture's is always going to be 'Marmite' love 'em or hate 'em, but it's been a really passionate thread, hasn't it' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) "Do we actually have any evidence that colouring a picture, stifles creativity, or is that just our assumption? Such evidence would be impossible to collect for there are so many variables, so what is it that actually leads us to make that statement?" Mundia - I wholeheartedly agree about how we measure or define creativity.....I stick to my guns...who dares define creativity? - what gives any individual valid and reliable evidence to define it?....Its all about personal, individual opinion all of which we have probably been influenced with many contributing factors and experiences we have been exposed to in our personal lives - beauty is in the eye of the beholder and (not that I should dare define creativity) I think that every person on this earth is creative in some form and our influences throughout our life may stifle this or may nurture this but ultimately we will be effected by 'life' and we can over think the the whole issue for children ....but it is great to thrash it out and think deeply about it all.... lovely debate everyone! WELL DONE US! Edited March 14, 2011 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Funnily enough the DCSF had a go at defining creativity a while back! When you look at various sources, they generally define creativity as having certain key elements: imaginative original new of value purposeful One of the key aspects of a creative endeavour is, ironically, the discipline that frees us up to express our creativity. Many many years ago I trained to be a professional ballet dancer. The discipline involved in that creative art is incredible - years and years of working at the barre to build the skills needed to be able to express yourself in a creative manner. The same for artists - Picasso or Lowry or Matisse only got to be considered 'great' because they DID the whole tight, disciplined, able to draw bit first, before rejecting it in favour of a more abstract form of art. This is the response to that whole 'a child could have done this' argument. Only by having the discipline and technique first, is the creative person freed up to fully express themselves. That is the root of why I put 'baby and bath water', Peggy. We must NOT assume that open ended, free choice, free expression, no one makes any rules is ALL there is to being creative. As Thomas Edison memorably said: 'Genius is 99 per cent perspiration, and 1 per cent inspiration'. Not that I particularly LIKE colouring books, I just LOVE a good debate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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