Posted on September 14, 2014

Mali expresses herself with art. “False,” as Dwight Shrute would say, but if you think about a toddler and her mood swings, there is absolute truth to that statement. When she is a roaring beast, her color choice is usually black, the lines bold and angular. When she is a singing pixie, her purple crayon glides cheerfully in circles. Despite the mood, there are always several crayons scattered about the table and floor.

Enter The Crayon Block; similar to the one used in my classroom. The block makes it easier for a hand to grasp ONE crayon, use it, and then return it to its spot. It may sound lame, but this is a big deal; the classroom was clean and organized.

Is this logic applicable to the work space of a toddler? The table was set with the paper and the block. She sat down, giggled, took one crayon out, colored, then placed it back into its spot, and chose another.

One crayon at a time.

Amazing.

Then she started to belly laugh because she had invented a new game – dump all of the crayons out, and put them back… mostly