If you haven't checked out the "crayola.com website then you have missed a treat. This website is amazing for kids of all ages. No matter what stage of reading/writing they find themselves this site is perfect. You can print off pictures to colour (inside or outside the lines) and write stories. You can pop into "story studio" and create a storybook all of your own. You can choose a theme, colour the pictures and then fill in the language bubbles becoming both an author and an illustrator. This is a terrific way for your child to create, write the storyline, and not be overwhelmed with the paragraph/full-length page story or essay. This interactive writing will encourage and inspire your child to compose longer stories later on. Some parents/teachers think that letting a child colour is a waste of time. I strongly disagree. Kids have to choose the preferred colours and then spend time applying the colours to their masterpiece. The whole colouring process teaches patience, calmness and is therapeutic to the mind.
Colouring seems to have been one of those things that was stigmatized and thrown out which is sad. As a kid growing up in a small village in northern Ontario our whole family (including my dad) spent many a long, winter night sitting around our kitchen table all colouring in our colouring books together. We had a huge box of crayons in the centre of our table and it was communal to the group. We laughed, discussed colour and design and shared our projects with each other. I was always amazed that my dad (who was a big, burly man's man) would sit down with his "girls" and colour along in his own book. Yes, I have fond memories of colouring so please I encourage you to go the website, poke around and start colouring again. Use your fridge, a bulletin board or your child's room as a wonderful space to mount and display your creations. Colour on and thank you "Crayola" for hanging in there and brightening up our world. Read on.
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