Coloring Your Stress

For those of a certain age, a box of 64 crayons- the one with the sharpener in the back- represented the apex of childhood happiness. While slogging through days of teaching my 9^th graders about Medieval Europe, I’d often long for the carefree days of just coloring away in my Batman activity book as a kid on my grandmother’s back porch. But childish pursuits are behind us and our high school scholars. Well of course they aren’t. One school in California is finding the childhood pastime to be a great way to relieve stress in for students, particularly the high-achieving ones. A recent article in School Library Journal detailed Valencia High School’s efforts to reduce student- and staff- anxiety through the simple act of coloring. According to Joy Millam, the school’s teacher librarian, coloring relaxes students because it “requires single-minded focus, while its structure makes it soothing.” This should remind all of us to take stock of the stress levels of our kids. The demands on them are great, often greater than they let on or than we know. Academics, athletics, extracurriculars, relationships, all of these pile on kids who often lack the coping tools for these burdens.  Finding a productive way to help them vent those tensions- whether through coloring or some other activity- could not only help them focus, it could benefit the entire learning environment at your school. For the whole story on Valencia High School, check out the article here. About the Author Kirby Spivey taught AP World History, US History, and numerous other Social Studies courses in Georgia. Mr Spivey currently leads USATestprep's Social Studies content team. He and his wife live in Atlanta and own several coloring books.