Coloring Pages and Drawing for Kids

 For the majority of the population, winter has finally arrived, with early 2016 seeing low temperatures, rain, or even snow. This strongly suggests that you and your family are staying inside more often. 

We all occasionally struggle to come up with activities to keep the family (read: "kids") occupied. Thanks to the hard work of my team at Adventure to Fitness, I recently discussed some suggestions for indoor games and activities with the intention of encouraging active minds and active bodies. 

However, it's occasionally beneficial to go back to the fundamentals. Two of the earliest and most basic activities we engage in—coloring and drawing—are also incredibly beneficial. In fact, adult birthday parties and coloring books were major trends in the previous year, offering 

Both drawing and coloring can help kids develop their fine motor skills. They also help to focus the mind. These inexpensive activities are suitable for traveling and require little preparation for parents and teachers (particularly relevant with winter breaks approaching). Most general retailers, discount shops, and online retailers have a wide selection of products. A growing number of coloring and drawing apps are now available for mobile devices, which is great news for tech-savvy parents. 

The activities of coloring and drawing are both creative and entertaining ways to include educational elements. With younger children, prepackaged coloring books and pages that match their interests and skills can be used. Children develop their creativity as they learn how to color and draw freely. Depending on the child's age and aptitude, learning can be introduced in either situation. For instance, youngsters can "Name all the different animals in the picture" or "Count the number of trains on the page." You can concentrate on learning spelling as well as letters, numbers, colors, and even geography and history. Parents can also request that their children draw a scene from a favorite book. As children get older, drawing can be used to introduce more complex ideas, perhaps even pique their interest in art, design, or graphics. 

At Adventure to Fitness, we have seen the results in person, so this isn't some esoteric theory. Animation films that take kids on adventures across the globe or through time have always been our main focus. We get kids moving while introducing educational material that is pertinent to the current episode during the shows. As we began speaking with the tens of thousands of teachers who were utilizing our program, we observed that many of them were using our videos in conjunction with coloring or drawing to give kids a break after physical activity and to reinforce the lessons from a particular episode. Since much of the educational material might be beyond their immediate comprehension but could be addressed with self-paced, creative-expression activities like coloring, we started offering free coloring pages for the younger children.

 

When the family is stuck inside on a chilly, rainy day, you can quickly entertain them by coloring or drawing. Choose what works best for your family, and don't forget that coloring and drawing are more than just enjoyable activities—they have many advantages for both physical and mental growth