Coloring

The benefits of coloring are often overlooked. Coloring is a great way to work on the small muscles of the hand and pencil control. When coloring a small picture, you must change the direction of the movement of the writing instrument several times. If you notice your child coloring only up and down or side to side, show them how they can color circular movements or in the direction of the picture. Coloring is also a great way to relieve stress so what better time than now to sit down with our kids and color with them?!

Things to look for:

  • If your child is coloring with large arm movements, provide them with a slant board (see visual in Handwriting section of this site) and encourage them to rest their wrist & forearm on the slantboard. Coloring while laying in prone (on their stomach propped up on their elbows) is also a great position to try!

  • If you notice your child holding the crayon or marker with their wrist flexed, try having them color on a vertical surface, such as an easel or with the paper on a wall or the refrigerator

  • If your child is coloring with a fisted grasp, please refer to Handwriting section for tips on encouraging a more mature tripod grasp

  • Difficulty coloring in the lines? Try making a bold outline around the area to be colored and prompt them to "color in the (blue) lines!"

  • If visual attention is an issue, try a textured surface (i.e., sandpaper or needlepoint canvas) underneath the paper they are coloring. This will provide them with additional tactile and auditory feedback as they color!

There are MANY free coloring pages available on the internet so the best thing to do is search your child's favorite movie, TV show, or character and see what pops up! Here are a few sites that your kids may enjoy: