What Can You Tell from How a Child Colors?

by Lyn Newton | More from this Blogger

In kindergarten we have staggered enrollment. We see a different group of children each day of the week. Therefore the children only come to school once a week for the first two weeks.

During this staggered enrollment we carry out various activities and tests to help us get to know the children better.

At some point during the day, one of the activities usually involves coloring a picture.

To me, I think that you can tell a lot about the way that a child colors.

In a group of five year old children who have very different background experiences (some have been to preschool and some have not) one will find many different coloring levels.

Some children are very careful to color neat and stay in the lines. Other children move quickly back and forth across the page and ignore the lines.

Some children enjoy using the different colors and others keep the same color throughout the whole picture.

When coloring, some children use the colors that they like and do not give thought to the realistic colors that should be used. Other children are very particular about making certain that everything is exactly the color that it is in real life.

When watching a child color I can tell much about the child's attention span and pride in his or her work. A child with a longer attention span will color slowly and carefully go around all of the lines. Children with shorter spans typically color quickly and do not stay within the lines.

In school, these children usually have the "I just want to get finished" attitude. They have less pride in their work and a more out for fun personality.

Children who are set on making sure that their colors match the world are more set on things being right. They want everything to be in order and follow the rules. Children who use inventive colors such as blue grass and orange colors have a bigger imagination and often a more fantasy outlook.

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Learn more about Lyn Newton

Lyn is a kindergarten teacher and mommy to a girl and a boy. In her spare time, she enjoys informative and creative writing.

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