The Benefits of Colouring and Solving Puzzles for Child Development

Colouring and solving puzzles are very important in helping a child’s cognitive, psychological and creative development. Colouring in is so much more than an activity just for fun and should be actively encouraged.

Colouring can help to improve a child’s motor skills by strengthening the muscles in their hand and wrist as colouring motions and precise grip are required. This in turn can help a child to write more skilfully and makes writing easier and more natural. It can also help to improve their ability to handle smaller objects and even hone their sports skills.

The activity of children holding crayons and choosing particular colours will allow them to develop a keen relationship between what their eyes see, what their hands do and how their brain relates to the information. This naturally helps cultivate strong hand eye-coordination in youngsters.

As the names and range of colours must be understood as well as the boundaries of the object being coloured, colouring activities can help children with structure, spatial awareness and also help them to learn about shapes, lines, forms and patterns.

Most classroom education occurs with a fair amount of structure. Lessons are usually carried out on paper via essays, tests and written course work. Colouring and puzzle pages can be vital in preparing young children for the more structured work ahead of them. Colouring can encourage imagination and encourage them to try new ideas, leading to improved self-esteem. The ability to complete a task or project successfully boosts a child’s sense of accomplishment and confidence in themselves.

Many children are visual by nature and every human being expresses themselves in unique and individual ways. Colouring is an excellent outlet for self-expression, as children make their colour choices and choose the boundaries of how they will colour in a page, sheet or book.

Assisting a child and spending time talking through the activity can help a child’s language development too as you discuss different adjectives, colour names and puzzle solutions.

As we have discussed, colouring and solving puzzles are much more than a recreational activity; they can also aid physical and psychological development in a range of areas. One of the most beneficial and now widely understood outcomes of colouring is the therapeutic and calming effects it can have. At all stages of life, (colouring has now been linked to helping older people with dementia), the simple and profound act of colouring, can lead to the reduction of stress and allow children to benefit from processing their emotions, frustrations and feelings onto the page.

At Colour Heroes, we have a range of activity sheets, each with their own theme and designed by our creative in-house team for children aged between 4 and 11 years. Each of our sheets contain one side dedicated to mindful colouring, ideal for younger children and for those who love to colour in. The other side is filled with a range of puzzles carefully selected for maximum engagement with a balance between mathematical, English and creative outcomes. We never use the exact same puzzle twice.

Our activity sheets are ideal to keep children busy while at home and can be used to complement homeschooling, whilst adding a little fun to learning. We are offering free activity sheet downloads each month on our website for every child to assist parents teaching their children at home.

During the current lockdown and to help keep younger ones entertained, please visit our website for free activity sheet downloads. Shop our full range of self-learning, activity sheets and history books at www.colourheroesshop.com