4 year old won't color in pre-school, teacher upset.?

Question

My 4-year old son's preschool teacher called me. Said that my son won't color inside the lines. He will color one line and put the crayon down & look at her. School started 1 wk ago. She has been teaching for 1 yr only & is young. My son doesn't color at home, has been going to daycare since young, knows all his colors, is very personable & outgoing. She did not let him go to recess today & told him she was calling me. From day 1 I predicted that she's very inexperienced but I figured hey its only preschool, right? I spoke with his teacher from daycare & she said he doesn't color for her with crayons but he will with markers & chalk.

Answer 1

That is very inappropriate to make him miss recess for that.  The teacher is wrong.  For one why is it an issue if he won't color... if she forces him to color, it will only get worse.  I would speak with her supervisor.  With her inexperience, she probably does not realize that she is wrong.  This teacher also needs to learn that boys learn differently then girls and that boys do not always like to color, so she needs to think of creative ways to make it fun, so that they want to do it.  I am a preschool teacher and  I do not even do coloring books.  I would rather the kids be more creative. They use stencils, and then they color in the lines, but I do not put emphasis on it. It is really not that important at four.  Also can he just stay in his daycare for preschool? I know some centers have preschool within the daycare, and if he is already comfortable, maybe it will be better.  The whole situation makes me wonder what kind of other minor problems is she going to have an issue with and hold recess from him.  You really do not want to make his first school experience a negative one... because he will dread school then.  

Answer 2

oh my! This lady is in the wrong career. You must speak to the director immediately. Punishing a child by taking away recess is WRONG. Coloring is great for lots of developmental reasons, ie. fine motor skills, etc... It's not a punishible crime to not want to color. That is a seperate issue though but what this woman is doing in her class. You need to talk to the director. Is there an aide in the class too? Is she punishing children for random or ridiculous reasons?

Your son deserves better and you certainly don't need the stress. Find another class for him or find another school OR bring your son home and you guys have fun together. Real life starts much too son for children and they should have every opportunity to enjoy childhood - especially coloring outside the lines.

Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Unless there is an immediate change in attitude and policies I'd find another program. Good programs do not require children to color or give them activities which require coloring in the lines. Your son can develop fine motor skills without ever picking up a crayon . It sounds to me like this teacher needs to be working with older kids and has no idea what constitutes good Early Childhood practice. There is never any justification for withholding food or playtime from a four year old and the Director should have trained her staff so that they knew this from the first day they started teaching.

Answer 4

I think it's rather harsh not to let a child go to recess just because he won't color.  The fact that he tried coloring one line is already one step towards the goal.  We can't force our issues on children specially school started only a week when this incident happened.There are teachers who are really inexperienced such as these.  If you still kept your child in that school, you could help her with your son by telling her what you knew from the daycare teacher.  It would also greatly help the child's development especially with his fine motor skills if we allow them to have exercises at home by letting them have coloring activities.  But don't force them, just provide them with opportunities to do so.  Bring home a nice coloring book that you can spend time coloring together.  This way, he will also be encouraged to color at home and will also increase his chances of doing the same activity in school.

Answer 5

not wanting to color 'as she expects him to' has no bearing on his outdoor play or threatening him with calling his mother.  a lot of children his age do not color inside the lines.  when i was young i wouldn't color anything inside the lines but decorated the background like an italian master.

she's young and inexperienced and probably not highly trained.  i'm thinking this is a daycare center that has preschool conotations to it?  if so, she probably barely meets the state requirements to have the job.  not entirely her fault.  she needs time and training.  and the training should come from the company or by her continuing her education.

i'd speak with her and the director at the same time so that everyone hears the same thing at the same time.  tell them your concerns and that he should, in no way, be punished because he doesn't color as perscribed and that you'd expect a 'teacher' to understand this and that not all children will color in the lines at this age.  

the 'principal' sounds like a dolt that she didn't even know what was going on in the classroom.  and that she wants a teacher to learn on your son.  she should have been properly trained and had a clue about proper expectations.  you do not withhold food from a child.  in most states this is against licensing regs.  might want to check your state regs on this and remind the principal of this.  doesn't sound like the principal has much of a clue about appropriate expectations either.

you might want to do a bit of looking around at other schools and talk to a few people about this place.  i'd definately consider removing him from this program in favor of one that has qualified/trained staff and a director that has a clue.

Answer 6

Based on other answers, you may want to take your child out. Here's a great link about what to look for in a preschool classroom.

It's published by a prominent national organization for early childhood. 10 Signs of a Great Preschool

http://www.naeyc.org/ece/1996/01.asp

Someone else mentioned Developmentally Appropriate Practice. If you aren't familiar with that term (the teacher obviously isn't), it gives lots of specifics http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf...  

Answer 7

This teacher clearly doesn't understand anything about child development. I'm guessing she has only had training and experience with older children.

I would take him out, if that's possible, and look for somewhere where the teachers understand young children.

The point isn't whether he can or can't colour - she is clearly not motivating him properly - 4 year old children will not 'colour inside the lines' because they've been told to, they will do it if 1. they are able to becasue they have the fine motor skills required or 2. because they WANT to. She has made him not want to.

If she has behaved in this way over such a trivial thing, she'll continue with other things she doesn't agree with and could very easily cause him psychological damage.

4 year old boys rarely choose to colour. It's her job to motivate him if she really wants him to do it, so she should have done what his other preschool did and let him decide what he wants to use.

I also think it's pathetic that she got in touch with you and that she punished your son - it's not as though he was doing anything that he could perceive as being 'wrong'. I can't believe that she isn't aware that you can't punish children so young.

If you're going to keep him at the preschool I would suggest to her that in future she should use encouragement and positive reinforcement to motivate your son. I think she's got serious problems and shouldn't be teaching small children. I think she should do some courses in early years!  :-)      

Answer 8

The teacher needs to understand this is not developmentally appropriate practice. Since you have spoken with her, speak with the director. No preschooler should EVER be punished for not 'coloring in the lines'. This is your child's first impression of school. It seems that so far, he is being told "He is not doing things 'right'" which in the ling run will hinder his love of learning. If the teacher continues to be oppressive, get out of there. Kids do not need preschool. If concerns of social skills, there are plenty of playgroups (MOPS, museums, etc) that offer kid programs. If learning is an issue, you can successfully teach your child at home (and have fun, too!) (and a note on crayons, some kids like the chunky vs the common crayon. or try making homemade crayons, melting down bits from old crayons with your son giving color combo suggestions. recipies are online. and Crayola makes a great crayon. Beautiful colors. Avoid all China crayons, as the colors just don't 'pop'. Crayola even has some crayon varieties, like the 'gel' colors that work best on black paper. Experiment,a nd have fun!)..................... and now withholding snack ???? THAT can be considered a form of child abuse in many American states., and a violation of state-licensing standards. And then homework ???? Oh come on!!! this is preschool !!! It sounds like you need to get out ASAP for your child's well-being. Sending homework home at this age is so inappropriate. There are so many fun ways to get your child use crayons, as I listed above. My kids ask for 'homework'. I send home a paper, listed an activity for the family. "Homework" for writing, for example, one activity suggests having the child write three things on his grocery list. At the store, have your child find the items as you walk down the aisles. When he finds the items on his list, he checks them off. ~~I work in a poverty area so I send home a cheapy notepad, kids put stickers on the front and wrote their name on the cover.  Use what works for you. I use crayons for the child to write with. The child learns during this activity: math (counting 3 objects, graphing by checking off items found, pre-reading writing words/names, ID items to words, patience, responsibility, classifying foods, ect... and mom has a quieter trip to the store, alot more fun than forcing your child to color three footballs in the lines).  And it sounds as if the director has no clue on appropriate teaching methods, or she is afraid of losing money. Check out other schools, talk about your concerns.  Get out ASAP.

Answer 9

I would demand he switch classes now. You are the paying parent here. I suggest either switching classes or switching preschools.

Coloring in the lines? Give me a break. The demands that they are putting on our little ones these days.

This is why I home school. It is just ridiculous.