Announcing the coloring competition winners - and the benefits of coloring.

Thursday is blog day, and we are thrilled to use this opportunity to announce the winners of Rose’s coloring competition! The artwork that came through was wonderful and inspiring; choosing the overall winners was a tough task, to say the least. If you did not get your entry in on time, don’t stress – we will hold another similar competition sometime soon again. In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to my letters  - I’ve made some fun activity PDFs for those who want to be my pen-pal. 

And so, here are the winners!

The third runner-up in the draw-your-own section is Matilda (7) from India.
The second runner-up in the draw-your-own section is John (8) from South Africa.
And the overall winner for the draw-your-own section is Reuben (10), also from South Africa. Reuben chose a hand-signed copy of ‘Where is Scratch?’ as his prize! Well done, Reuben – what great initiative you took finding Scratch! 

The third runner-up in the coloring section is Sally (8) from California.
The second runner-up in the coloring section is Ben (7) from the UK.
And the overall winner of the coloring section is Sarah (8), also from the UK. Sarah’s picture depicts the sunrise beautifully, and this is what influenced our decision. What beautiful coloring, Sarah! She has chosen a hand-signed copy of ‘The Simple Things Around Me’. 

We hope to see more entrants in Rose’s creative competitions in future. In fact, to give you some motivation for the next competition, or for your own personal gain, we’ve decided to create a short blog for today about the benefits of coloring.

Not only can children express their thoughts by creating hand-drawn pictures of their own, coloring itself is therapeutic and aids in developing motor skills in children.

Take a look at some of these benefits and decide for yourself.

1 – Coloring improves motor skills in children.
2 – Coloring between the lines (and even outside of them) helps to develop focus and hand-to-eye coordination.
3 – Coloring serves to better handwriting skills, as the hands learn to curve and draw lines.
4 – Coloring prepares children for school, in a sense that they are given a task to complete and need to develop tenacity to do so.
5 – Coloring teaches color awareness, helping children to discern between colors and learn how to use different art mediums to portray reality (or fantasy)!
6 – Coloring simulates creativity, as there are no rules to coloring; rather the child is left to express themselves as they feel fit.
7 – This in turn boosts self-expression and also self-esteem, as they learn that their inner expressions count for something.
8 – Coloring is a great from of stress relief and therapy in people of all ages, especially children.

Besides these benefits, coloring opens new doors for children, especially if the subject matter is something they feel passionate about. Purchasing your child a set of quality pencils and line-free drawing paper could be one of the best things you ever do for them. Give them an hour or more to create whatever comes to their mind. Indeed, this is how writers and storytellers are born.

Any storyteller will tell you that before a single word is written on a page, they actually see the setting for the story (along with how the scenarios play out within the story) in their mind’s eye. Not everyone is a Van Gogh or world-class artist – people study for years to get images perfect – but even creating basic outlines that depict a certain event or character can really be rewarding, and can bring thoughts to life.

So, go ahead – give it try. Perhaps your child has more talent for story-telling and art than you could ever have possibly imagined!

If you have any thoughts or tips about coloring or art for children, let us know in the comments below.

​Until next time, keep shining,
stay magical!
Sasha ~