Will busting out your crayons and colored pencils increase your happiness?
According to the adult coloring book craze that happened several years ago, that was one reason why adults were coloring again.
In fact, even the Cleveland Clinic released a brief article explaining the benefits of coloring:
3 Reasons Adult Coloring Can Actually Relax Your Brain
At some point this summer (or fall), I noticed a bulletin board idea for students to destress. I can’t remember exactly where I saw it, but it sparked an idea for my classroom.
It just so happened that I was thrifting and found a $0.99 coloring book (originally $15!) that I thought my middle school students would enjoy if I tried out the bulletin board idea. If I use this bulletin board idea again, I’m considering finding coloring pages that link to our middle school Social Studies curriculum (or even the elective I teach, journalism).
I did find the coloring book I thrifted on Amazon for a great price. You can find it here: https://amzn.to/2x4G2OU
I was already revamping my classroom a bit, so I decided it was time to try out the new bulletin board.
Here is in the bulletin board in progress. I haven’t talked to each class about the bulletin board yet. The only students who have had time to color are those in my “homework” class who have every assignment complete.
Even though the coloring is about de-stressing, I didn’t want stress in the name of the bulletin board. I’m considering “Color ME Happy” or “Color for Happiness” as the name.
Finally, I’m going to post some “directions” and discuss appropriate times to color (or request permission to color).
I’ll continue to add more – including directions, the pros and cons of this type of interactive bulletin board, and how it turns out.
Update: A lot of students want to be sure they have a part in the final product.
The “COLOR ME HAPPY” title has been added.
Another Update:
A student donated two of her coloring books, so we could create a new “Color Me Happy” bulletin board once this one was completed.
Find the coloring books she donated here:
Find this coloring book here:
They were so excited about creating a second bulletin board that I let them take down the current bulletin board for journalism and start creating the second right away.
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Michigan Mama 