How to Choose Color Pencils for Kids?

It may seem silly and trivial to write a post on such a simple product, but color pencils, oh they have given us much "trials and tribulations!" Furthermore, it is a weekly requirement as part of his music class homework to do coloring, so I better take color pencils seriously.

(Ok, you may ask what has coloring got to do with music and piano class? I asked the same question. Apparently according to the music school, coloring helps to develop focus and self-discipline. According to the principal, the results of the coloring is not too overly important, but it is the process that counts. Make sure to encourage follow-through in your child, and make sure that it is the first thing your child does after the music class, and not last minute before the next class)

Now back to the topic of coloring, ever wonder why your children don't like coloring?

Here are a list of tips I have learned from the mistakes I have made along the way. I am jotting it down to prevent myself from making the same mistakes again (when I become a grandmother and doing coloring with my grandchild :-) and if I could prevent others from making the same mistakes:

1. Choose a good brand

Try not to stint on this. It's very important to select good quality color pencils. I learned it the hard way.

When J tried to color, the color was very faint. He had to use a lot of strength, and got tired. Both J and I got frustrated, and there goes our coloring session :-(

But alas, choosing a good brand is not easy. I have tried quite a few (painful to think of all the money that went down the drain.)

A good brand to buy is Faber-Castell, which is the best so far. It is not the most expensive, but the color comes through nicely, without burning a hole buying the artist grade ones.

2. Don't buy it in paper packaging

If you can avoid it, try not to buy it in paper packaging that you need to slot up and down, as it is very troublesome. Buy it in a metal or wooden case that display the color pencils on a flat row.

3. Don't display it in a can

For the same reason, don't display it in a can. It is messy and does not provide a good overview.

Display it on a flat row provides a good overview and makes it easy for your child to choose colors. Furthermore, it is much more pleasing to look at, encouraging your child to do his coloring.

Don't worry about arranging it by color. If it is not according to color, it will still give a good overview.

4. Find a spot for it that is accessible to your child

Don't put it in a pencil case. Find a spot that is accessible to your child, where it is at his height, and he can independently store it back.

One set for J's bedroom upstairs

One set for J's playroom downstairs

At 5 years old, J is really into coloring now. So I am really glad that I have switched to a better quality set of color pencils. 

 

Faber-Castell color pencils is available from Amazon:

 

 

 

School Time/Skoletid/上课时间

Duration: 6.00 - 8.30pm (2.5 hours)

As today is Singapore National Day, our School Time is geared more towards activities related to it.

Special Time with Daddy:

Since we managed to finish dinner by 6pm today, Joshua had a spin in his electric toy car from grandpa from Singapore and practised his judgment of distance, direction and control...

 

Montessori Time:

Joshua arranged his self-made counters into a line. We also it into the number 5 and practised number recognition.

Blanket Time:

We read Chinese Tang Dynasty poems. Joshua recited by heart one of the poems, which we took a video of:

Desk Time:

We did colouring of the Singapore flag with oil pastel together. It could be a very boring task, but the challenge of colouring the background without taining the stars and the moon made it interesting.

From this activity, Joshua practised concentration skills, ability to persevere and follow through to complete a task, pencil grip and control of precision. I helped him to erase those parts that he overshot the line.

By then Joshua was already very tired, but after he saw how I colour around the stars, he got very motivated and went on to complete the colouring.

Bedtime:

We prayed for our nation Singapore, for wise leaders, for peace and prosperity, for the warm racial harmony that we built and for God's protection. We prayed for Florian would one day go to church with Joshua and I and get to know God in a deeper personal way. We recited a couple of Tang dynasty poems and sang the Singapore National Anthem.

P.S. You might notice that Joshua was dressed in red and white, the colour of the Singapore flag. This was to mark the Singapore's 47th National Day today :-)

J Summary (3Y3M3D) - Mommy, I Like You, Because You Do School with Me

It has been a long day week at work. The schedule at home is haywire as a result. But I was glad that this evening, we managed to do school, after experimenting it yesterday evening. It didn't come without cost - and I am struggling to figure out how I could do so and still keep the family life in balance. Please pray for me for wisdom.

Daddy mentioned that the J's Bedtime Routine has dragged on longer and longer. I could not quite find a good way to explain. Finally, I understand why. J is growing, and there are more and more things to cover, before the real bed time. So, I have now renamed it School Time instead. I think that will go down better with Daddy, as he would then better understand what I am doing that is keeping J up, and that I am not wasting time. Still, it is a strange concept for Danes to do school with a 3 year old.

There is a fundamental cultural difference between the East and the West. It is very difficult for the West to understand the East. Vice-versa, it is very difficult for the East to understand the West. Both view education as very important, but it is viewed as TOP priority in the East. The East views education of their children as the ULTIMATE importance worth sacrificing ALL. Not to the same crazy extend in the West. This is seen in our home - being an East-West family. It is very difficult for Daddy to understand my craziness. I think I understand Daddy, but maybe I haven't quite understand him. I pray that Daddy will understand me more in this area, and that I will understand him better too through his cultural len.

The traditional Chinese mom will sacrifice her life - LITERALLY - for the education of her children. In this regards, I am the most traditional Chinese mom of all. I see myself as being poured out, my everything, for the education and development J. The day he is grown up, I will be all poured out and aged. And no, unlike other traditional Chinese, I don't expect anything in return from J. I don't expect any repayment. This is not how I view filial piety. I pour out myself willingly for J with no regrets.

Someone told me that I am paying too much, in terms of sacrifice, in order to do school with J. I would have nothing left for myself. And what about my own personal and professional development? For a working mom, time is so precious. After deducting work time, I do not have much time left. Whatever little time I have left, the majority is spent on J and his "schooling". I have no other choice. I am poured out. I accept it, if I no longer have personal or professional development. Tired as I am, yet I enjoy it so much. I don't have time to myself, yet school time with J is actually time to myself. It is a hobby and an enjoyment. It is a form of relaxation for me.

This evening for School Time, we did 1 Montessori-style activity, read 3 Chinese books, did 1 jigsaw puzzle (I suggested this and J completed the puzzle, which was rare! So it is worth to celebrate), did 5-6 pages of Chinese workbook, recited 3 Tang Dynasty Poems and...

This evening, for the real first time, J asked on his own initiative to do colouring, instead of me offering it to him. In fact, as it was getting late, I asked J to skip it. But J was persistent. So I let him try. And for the first time, he completed the colouring the whole picture with patience and sense of achievement. My perseverance has paid off. If your child does not like colouring. Don't give up. Keep continuing to encourage him. I told J that I am going to take his picture and take a photo, because I am so proud of him for taking the effort to complete his colouring, without any encouragement from me. He gave me a smile of gladness for the recognition I gave him, which I will never forget. That image is captured in my mind, and I want to remember it forever.

This evening, while putting J to bed, he said, "妈妈, 我喜欢你" meaning "Mommy, I like you." in Mandarin.

I asked, "为什么你喜欢我? meaning "Why do you like Mommy?"

He said, "因为你很可爱 :-)" meaning "Because you are very adorable :-)."

I asked, "为什么你觉得妈妈很可爱呢? 是不是因为我陪你做功课?" meaning "Why do you think Mommy is adorable. (Pause) Is it because Mommy did homework with you?"

He said, "是的" meaning "YES, YES."

Before as I left the room, he said again, "妈妈, 我喜欢你, 因为你陪我做功课." meaning "Mommy, I like you, because you spent time doing school with me :-)"

I feel so rewarded, that no matter how tired I will be, or how challenging it is to do school with Joshua, by hook or by crook, I will find a way, so that our special School Time can continue.

That means that I have to be even more efficient, even more organized, find more energy by exercising, so that I can squeeze out more time. I pray also for wisdom to strike a balance.

Easy Colouring Activity

Age: From 3 years old

While waiting for me to prepare breakfast, if I remember, I will try to occupy Joshua with colouring activity, so that the time is not wasted in waiting.

According to the book, On Becoming Preschoolwise, colouring is a good activity to train Joshua's character development in patience and perseverance, and I agree. But it is not always an easy task, and can be an uphill task sometimes. It requires consistency and determination from parents, but I will try my best.

Colouring is also a good activity for preschooler to practise pencil grip and control, which is a pre-requisite skill to writing.

If your child doesn't like colouring, you can try this.

What to Do If Your Child Does Not Like to Do Colouring?

Colouring is an important pre-schooler's activity, as it helps them to practise pencil grip and control. It is precusory to learning to write. It also teaches patience and determination. The book "On Becoming Pre-Schoolwise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam wrote that colouring and puzzles are some activities that would teach a child attention span and concentration skills, which are very important skills, when starting school. And it has to be developed from young.

Recently, I am vexed that Joshua doesn't seemed to be taking any interest in colouring activity. I have been trying to find ways to encourage him, and today I have made some head way. I hope it will continue, and I will add to this post more strategies on what to do, if your child does not like colouring.

Here are some ways that worked for me:

1. Start Bedtime Routine Earlier

Start the bedtime routine earlier, so that it leaves you enough time to squeeze in colouring activity, before your child goes to bed. Most children would not want to go to bed and sleep. So I will give Joshua a choice - Do you want to sleep now or do just one more page of colouring. Given the choice of going to bed and colouring, he would choose colouring anytime.

2. Use Oil Pastels

I gave Joshua colour pencils and wax crayons, but he didn't like it. The colours were too bland and not rich. He lost interest. Actually I lost interest too. Joshua never did complete his colouring. Below is one such incomplete work.

Then I remember that when I was a child, I used oil pastels to paint, and I really enjoyed it. Thus, I bought this for Joshua from Singapore. I tried it today, and it was an instant hit. For the first time, he completed colouring his sheet (of course, the fact that I timed it just before bedtime helped).

This is what he coloured today. I started him off by helping him to colour the mother duck. Joshua (2Y11M24D) coloured the duckings, the water, the grass and the flowers. It was the first time, that he actually completed colouring the whole picture!

Joshua clearly prefers oil pastels to wax crayons or colour pencils. Oil pastels' colours are much more vivid and blendable. It has inspired Joshua to sit and colour. I highly recommend it, if you want to encourage your child to enjoy colouring activity. You can also buy it from Amazon below:

3. Do Colouring Yourself

Lead by example. Initially, I was simply giving instructions to Joshua, "Joshua, please colour this. You should colour here, etc." This is because I wanted him to be independent and do things himself.

It suddenly don on me that maybe, I should start doing it myself, and hopefully it would inspire him. So today, I started by first colouring the mother duck with the oil pastels. In the process, I wanted to teach Joshua that colouring can be fun, and that it gives great satisfaction to see your completed work. It seemed to have worked. When I handled the oil pastels to him, he began to colour it with more attention and care.

4. Discipline

The book "On Becoming Pre-Schoolwise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam recommends that if your child is not happy about doing a proper job by colouring a sheet properly, but simply scribble the picture in 30 seconds and jumping on to the next picture or activity, give him back a new sheet with the same picture and ask him to colour it nicely. Set the timer to 5 minutes, and tell him that he cannot leave, even if he has completed the work. He has to sit there until the timer goes. After a few rounds of repeated sheet, he would know that he won't be able to get away. The child would then sit down and take the time to colour properly. I tried this method with my 4 year old nephew in Singapore and it worked. Upon giving him back the sheet with the same picture to colour again, he did a perfect and beautiful job, colouring the picture fully and within the lines.

5. Pray

Lastly and most importantly, I always believe that you can have a plan, but pray hard to God to change the heart of your child from the inside. You must do your part to encourage and pray and ask God to do His part too. Pray also for wisdom from God to find strategies that would work for your child. Pray also for patience and His peace to surround you. I have been praying for a week, and today, I had a break-through with colouring with Joshua.