Why I Don’t Give My Toddler Coloring Books

Why I Don’t Give My Toddler Coloring Books

Posted by Jean Van’t Hul on November 10th, 2011 on Toddler Times

I believe strongly in authentic art experiences for children, and despite some crazy crafting urges that overcome me this time of year (and that result in more adult-initiated, holiday-themed craft projects), I mostly enable my daughters to do plenty of process-oriented art. I don’t want them to oh-so-carefully color in the lines of a drawing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I want them to draw and paint, collage and sculpt, to create just as they desire.

I don’t buy my toddler coloring books and here’s why:

Coloring books teach children to be passive about their art. Rather than drawing something themselves, they are coloring in adult-drawn images.

Coloring books teach toddlers to compare their art to an adult’s.

Coloring books set toddlers up for failure. Coloring inside the lines? How many toddlers can, or better question, should, do that?

Scribbling is linked to future literacy. The more toddlers scribble and draw, the easier it is for them to learn to write later. As toddlers scribble, they learn to make all the shapes necessary to write the alphabet. Coloring inside predetermined lines doesn’t allow this to happen.

So what do I do instead? I celebrate the scribble. I provide blank paper and markers (or crayons, paints, pastels…) for my toddler to explore as she sees fit. And I’m careful about the way I talk about her art.

That’s not to say we don’t own any coloring books. My older daughter has been given a few over time and I don’t make a big deal out of it. She enjoys them for a few days then I put them away on a closet shelf (they are not missed, in case you are wondering) . Every once in a while—on a rainy day or when she is home sick from school—I get one out briefly for its novelty.

How about you? What do you think about coloring books? Do you use them wholeheartedly? Sometimes? Never?

Shop local!!

We are very saddened to see several independent stores in Evanston and Glenview with “Going Out Of Business” signs.  The only way to stop this awful situation is for everyone to think about their favorite local stores and what they would do without them.  Yes, the Big Boxes may be cheaper on some items.  Yes, the internet discounts on some items.  But your local stores are a part of the community.  They know you and care about you.  They are there to help you find approriate gifts.   They will special order for you.  They will call another store to try and find you an item they do not have.  They will wrap the gifts for you!  And they try to employ community people in their businesses.  So save your local economy and your favorite stores by shopping (and buying) in local, independent stores.

Here is advice from the 3/50 project:

Think about which three independently owned businesses you’d miss most if they were gone. Stop in and say hello.  Pick up a little something that will make someone smile.  Your contribution is what keeps those businesses around.

If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.*  Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of the employed population did that.

For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

The number of people it takes to start the trend…you.

©® Cinda Baxter 2010; all rights reserved. Proudly supporting RetailSpeaks and independent retailers everywhere.

* Employment statistics courtesy U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2/6/2009; 68/43 courtesy Civic Economics study, 2008.

Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy.

Maurice Sendak

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Maurice Sendak this morning.  As a teacher I always enjoyed reading his books to my students.  We did so many projects, drawing or creating our own Wild Things, listening to his books on records, and acting out his stories.  When Becky was a baby,I bought Sendak’s Nutshell Library which includes “Pierre”, “One Was Johnny”, “Chicken Soup With Rice”, and “Alligators All Around”.  We read them often and listened to them on a record.  I have a copy of the Nutshell Library here in the store, and I laugh as I remember Ron telling me how he’d be walking downtown, still singing… “and one was Johnnie who lived by himself and liked it like that!”  We are sorry for his passing but celebrate his creative life which contributed so much to  so many children!  

Pigeon’s Met His Match

Yesterday NPR featured an interview with Mo Willems, one of our favorite authors.  Click here to hear it!  Then be sure to come pick up Duckling Gets a Cookie, his newest book, or an old favorite, at Becky & Me.  We even have stuffed animal characters from his books including: Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggy, Leonardo, Cat the Cat, and of course, Pigeon!

Green Toys

Green Toys is another company that makes it’s products in the  U.S.A.  They use recycled milk containers as the main ingredient in creating their toys. Yes, the exact plastic milk jugs that you and your family drink from every day. When you finish your milk and toss the container in the recycling bin, these milk containers are collected at your curb by a local recycling company, who then sorts them from all the other types of plastic. Next, the milk containers are reprocessed into super clean fresh plastic.   Green Toys are truly local creations. Every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production, to final assembly, occurs in California. Their raw materials and toys aren’t shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gasses. It also guarantees your toys won’t get seasick before they get to your home!   We are expecting an order in any day, in time for Earth Day.  Make sure you check out these products!  They are high quality, and very earth friendly!   http://www.greentoys.com/about.html

Shop local for quality service!

Let’s talk about customer service… This past weekend was extremely busy for Easter. 

• Several customers were in a rush, and needed a little extra TLC.  In one case a woman needed to take home her items to show her ailing mother before the items were shipped out.  She didn’t have time to wait for the UPS quote.  She is a very good, loyal customer so we let her take the unpaid items home to show them off.  She returned the next day, paid for them, we wrapped them and shipped them out!!  She lives in the neighborhood, we had a relationship with her, and we trusted her!
• Two customers were deperate for two items which our Evanston store was out of.  We brought the items over  from Glenview at the end of the day, and the customers happily picked them up.  One customer could not get back until after 8:00 so we left her packages with our good friends at Subway.
• We stayed open two hours later than usual in Evanston because people were pouring in, frantic about Easter. 

You can’t get this at a Big Box store or on the internet!  SHOP LOCAL!!!

Channel Craft – toys made in the U.S.A.

Another company that makes their products here in the states is Channel Craft. Channel Craft began as a one-man operation back in 1983 from the back of a step van / traveling wood shop, when president and founder Dean Helfer, Jr. drove from craft shows to folk festivals peddling his hand-crafted wooden products. He would arrive at a craft show the evening before and set up his traveling wood shop for the next morning ready to sand and sell his products that were finished right before the customer’s very eyes. The craft circuit opened new avenues and provided the necessary cash flow to put together a true manufacturing operation.

As the years went on, Dean and his crew settled in the small mining town of Ellsworth, Pennsylvania to set up a “permanent” shop to hand craft his goodies. Dean had rubbed elbows with many other U.S. toy and game manufacturers and had worked out distributor partnerships to sell their products along with the Channel Craft toys. These partnerships turned into lasting business and personal relationships that would begin to bring together the cohesive theme of “Authentic American Toys, Games and Puzzles made in the USA.”

Space constraints required Channel Craft to seek out a larger manufacturing facility if they wanted to continue producing the American Pastimes that had brought them this far. In 1991, Dean and Channel Craft settled into an old Army Corps of Engineers building south of Pittsburgh on the banks of the Monongahela River in Charleroi, PA. With upwards of 70 employees, Channel Craft was “Quality Crafting” toys, games and puzzles for thousands of museums, specialty toy and gift shops, mail-order catalog companies and department stores.

Each year, new products  are tailor-made for each specialty toy and gift store, museum, park and attraction. You’ll never find Channel Craft products in the major discount stores or worldwide superstore chains.

Becky & Me Toys currently has jacks, marbles, marble mats, kazoos, nose flutes, dominoes, solitaire, wooden tops, and magic penny tops from this wonderful company.  They are all quality crafted products perfectly sized for Easter baskets or for just plain fun!

Toys made in the USA

We are always on the lookout for quality toys made here in the U.S. Our newest find is a company called “manny and simon”.

“manny and simon” is an exciting collection of children’s products that takes the classic animals and vehicles children love and transforms them into contemporary essentials for every kid!   Their vision is to always keep things clean and simple while maintaining high-quality products that stimulate kids never-ending imagination.  They follow a path of environmental and social responsibility with their committment to using organic and eco-friendly materials wherever possible in their environmentally conscious factory in southern California.

We have brought in six of their wooden toys.  Their bodies are made with post-industrial recycled wood residuals and the wheels are made from sustainably-managed solid wood.  They are beautiful!!

All For Me And None For All

Putting exaggeration to comedic use, Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger deliver another playful and delightfully illustrated tale about the dangers of going hog-wild and show, in the end, that sharing just might have its own rewards!  They introduce a greedy pig named Gruntly who doesn’t just refuse to share his toys with his friends, “he helps himself to theirs.” On a treasure hunt, Gruntly is so determined to get to the prize first that he dashes off without listening to (or reading) the end of the rhyming clues, so that he may be the first one to find the treasure and keep it,,,all for himself. It’s story about greediness and the inability to share.  However, Lester’s prose is dashed with humor throughout, as is Munsinger’s characteristically emotive artwork.  In the end Gruntly learns about sharing when he yells out, “Alllllllllmost all for me. But some for all!”

This fantastic new book will teach kids ages 4 and up about sharing, respect, and being a good friend. 

How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development

There is a misconception in society that reading chapter books at an early age makes you better or smarter. In fact, pushing children ahead to read chapter books that are beyond their reading level is not helpful. Kids need to be reading “good fit” books so that they can work on comprehension. Even if your child can read the words in a harder, longer chapter book, he/she very well may not be understanding the story adequately. Below is part of an article we found from The Children’s Book Review. The article was entitled How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child’s Development and it was written by Bianca Schulze.

So why are picture books important?

10. Chapter books are not necessarily more complex than picture books and in fact, their vocabulary and sentence structure can be considered simplistic when compared with older level picture books. Many picture books are written at a higher reading level, use amazingly complex vocabularies and offer interesting plots.

9. The illustrations of a picture book help children understand what they are reading and allow young readers to analyze the story. When children are having difficulty, the illustrations can help them figure out the meaning of what they are reading. The illustrations are also a powerful way to help English learners comprehend the story.

8. Children love art. Why do you think they spend so much time coloring, drawing and doing crafts? Whatever the reason children are drawn towards a book, it’s a means to get them to read.

7. Language: Picture books allow children to practice the sounds of language and as parents it’s our responsibility to introduce new and interesting words at every opportunity. The rhythm and rhyme in many picture books make for great read-alouds and children learn words more easily when they hear them spoken often.

6. Repetition: The repetition in many picture books allows a child to participate in the story. Young readers get excited when they can anticipate a forthcoming line and children learn skills like phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension and fluency.

5. Picture books are multi-sensory, which aids a child’s growing mind and stimulates their imagination. Not only do the children hear the story, they see the illustrations, and smell and touch the pages.

4. Picture books can be a useful tool for teaching the concept of cause and effect. Before reading a picture book to your children, tell them to listen for key words such as because, so, if, then, as a result of, etc. These types of words can usually be found in a story that has a cause and effect relationship. Learn more in this article at the Writing for Children Center: http://writingforchildrencenter.com

3. Picture books help develop story sense. Children learn the beginning, middle and end of a story and can often relate to the age-appropriate issues and conflicts presented in a picture book.

2. Picture books allow an entirely different, more interactive communication between parent and child. Picture books allow parents to spend time talking with their children about the story, pictures and words. This interaction builds reading comprehension. Picture books allow you to talk about what you see on each page, so be sure to talk about what happened in the story, ask about the characters, how they are feeling, and events that took place.

1. Picture books are fun and the key is to always make the reading experience fun and a time to look forward to. Reading should never be perceived as a chore. If you make reading a chore early on in a child’s development, they might grow to resent reading. Children who don’t naturally progress from picture books to chapter books may translate reading into working – more specifically, working that isn’t much fun.