I’m a little concerned that DS is more interested in sorting and arranging his 8 jumbo crayons instead of scribbling with them.
I’m just as interested in nurturing his budding, free-form imagination and creativity - but he’s not into crayons in the way I thought he might.
He’s definitely in a ‘sorting’ phase. He loves to arrange bottles in a row, stack and arrange his foam letters, animals, and now crayons!
Do the chunky crayons seem more like toys to him?
Any similar stories would be great to hear, as well as suggestions for stoking the boy’s creativity and imagination.
After reading up a bit on Waldorf-inspired techniques, I am trying to tell him stories without the aid of books so he starts to use his imagination more…
When that happens, I move on to something else. If you always have to have offer up a full serving of everything educational on a regular basis, you’re just going to be frustrated. Interests come and go.
I would be happy that he is into organizing and sorting. That seems like an advanced ability for his age. Coloring will come when he is ready. My son liked to sit and color when he was 1, but not so much after he was 18 months or so. He’ll color a few scribbles and then be more interested in putting the crayons back in the box. He’ll color once with a marker, put the cap on, and put it away. He is not interested in continuing to use that color.
Have you tired other types of mediums like finger paints or markers? Maybe other types of crayons?
Great suggestions for finger paint, paint brushes or maybe even chalk on a chalk board.
I think one problem is that he KNOWS there is more than one crayon in the box and will not relent until he can have them all so he can arrange them.
If I can just show him one chunk of chalk maybe he will understand to use it.
I’m mildly pleased that he’s so into sorting, etc. but it’s also a little obsessive and excessive.
He does count a bit when sorting too…
I will monitor it and talk to the pediatrician as well.
My son has his little quirks too, and I think I have something to do with it. My son is a clean freak. He doesn’t care about picking up his toys, but he freaks out if he sees dirt or a hair or a fuzzy. He is also very anal about his nails. He constantly picks at them and wants me to trim them.
Mom2ross - consider this as his learning to use the crayons. It begins with the sorting but he will eventually tire of it and look for new ways to use them. That’s when he’ll start using them for their intended purpose!
I guess it is a little like learning to eat - at first toddlers just make a big mess. They are little scientists experimenting with mixing their soup with rice and transferring rice from one bowl to another. It’s messy and annoying for us but its a learning process for them. If we relax and let them get over it, they’ll eventually start doing the right thing. We used to get so uptight with our son playing with his food that he eventually stopped wanting to eat. Once I started relaxing and developing a more nonchalant attitude towards him eating, he started to pick it up again. Unfortunately, his grandparents are still uptight so dinner time is a battle ground. He eats okay when it’s just him, his Dad and me.
So just relax and let him enjoy his crayons. If sorting them out makes him happy, let him do it. Right brain philosophy states that children who are having fun are learning because the right brain loves playing.
Whenever I read on anything that is to be introduced for kids to learn I am also told first and foremost let the kid explore it first, and from my point I see you have a very highly intelligent son who wants to learn about his crayons. they feel to learn, so his sorting is probably his way of learning/exploring about it. I will say give him the crayons again and again and while he arrange you can choose one crayon and draw WITHOUT asking him to do so. You can go verbal while using it, like while drawing a boat with a red crayon, you can say Mummy is drawing a red boat! Draw things he is interested in but don’t ask him to draw just yet. Let him explore for a long while, remember kids can ask same question 30 times, so it can very well be with exploring a new object, just let him take his time.
My son was introduced to making objects using the color pencils by my aunt. And during those days, when ever he lay his hands on color pencils he will start making a house or a tree from it! No drawing or writing at all, but yes the phase passed and he got back to making the proper use of it!
So this could be a phase or his way of exploring, just let him play till he realize he can do much better creations with it, he’s a baby and he sure will learn soon! Babies are really the smartest!
She pairs up socks, lines up toy cars, or groups items by color, size, or shape. She may also like things to be organized and orderly.
What it may mean: Your child is probably what’s known as an auditory sequential learner, meaning she is an analytical thinker, is well organized, and pays attention to details. She may be looking for patterns, often an early indicator of aptitude in math and science, says Linda Powers Leviton, an expert in gifted education.
How to nurture: Explore projects and games that involve patterns and matching, such as beading or Go Fish. Find activities to encourage math skills and experiments to interest a budding scientist.
Put your child in charge of sorting the silverware and organizing the cans in the cupboard. For the collector, hardware stores sell plastic containers with multiple drawers that are perfect for storing small items like shells, rocks, crystals, and whatever else your child wants to count, sort, or classify.
