Can colouring and drawing improve the overall academic performance of a child?

Drawing is an important intellectual activity for children. It is a way to express and understand the world for them. The steps to draw various objects teach them how to give shape to their ideas because mind is always thinking during the process of drawing.

Children grow with much better life skills when they participate in drawing, colouring and physical activities. Such participation encourages children for healthy competition; and develops problem solving skills among them. It relaxes their mind and limbs when they are exhausted.

Drawing fosters the imagination of children which helps them understand geography, science and maths later in their lives, because the skills they acquire through drawing improve their academic performance. It builds focus and hand-eye coordination of children that develop their confidence and self-esteem. When drawing expands their creativity and imagination, it also facilitates the habit of self-regulation.

Being a very important subject like science, maths, social science and language, it is essential to find good art books for kids. A good art book proceeds from simple to little complex drawings and later introduces advance level of drawing techniques. Best art books take inspiration from the immediate surroundings of a child. Such books cover cartoon drawings, semi-realistic drawings and at the advanced stage they cover realistic drawings. However, cartoon and semi-realistic formats of drawings are very popular among children and these formats add a fun element in the learning process.

Books for kids as a set can’t be completed without including kids drawing books. Drawing allows them to express themselves, especially when they can’t express their feeling through words. Whatever they make has a meaning from their perspective, though your own perspective may be different. At the beginning, partially formed ideas take shape and develop through the drawing.

Pattern books and shape books with lots of tracing activities are very important for children. When they go through these books, they follow a monotonous and repetitive approach of learning. It may not sound good, but it is true. However, such monotonous and repetitive approach improves their pincer grip and helps them hold the pencil independently. As their hand-eye coordination improves, they start making their own sketches. They try to improvise the adult drawn images provided in the books. Their improvisation is natural, because each newly developed piece of art is inspired by its previous version.

A good art book teaches simple drawings to children through a number of techniques. Such techniques can be mastered by children if they practice them regularly. It helps children learn how to draw and make them comfortable with the objects to be drawn.

10 Things to keep in mind while buying kids drawing book.

1. It should be a well-graded book that proceeds from simple to little complex children drawings keeping in mind the age of children.
2. There should be a proper space on each practice page so that children could draw and colour the pictures easily.
3. The book should be decorated with soft colours that can give relaxation to the eyes of little children.
4. It should develop the mental abilities of children, as while drawing new discoveries are made that are very important at this stage for children.
5. It should work as a bridge between the inner world of a child’s imagination and outer world of sharing ideas.
6. A good art book uses simple language for the statements so that parents and sometimes even children could understand them easily.
7. Thickness of paper lets children use any kind of colour whether it is crayons, oil pastels, sketch pens or water colours. So paper should be of rich quality that has adequate thickness.
8. A good art book should work as a vocabulary booster. Different objects decorating the book has a specific name. While drawing or colouring children spend time with these objects and it indirectly improves their language competence.
9. A good drawing book encourages children to raise environmental issues through banners, posters and leaflets on water saving, tree planting and animal care.
10. A good drawing book should encourage a healthy discussion among children. While drawing or colouring they will ask questions and these questions must be answered in a way that each child becomes a constant little thinker.