I’ve also found this a great way to encourage children’s fine muscle coordination.  As I’ve substituted in kindergarten this year, and followed the youngsters throughout the school year, I’ve seen a great improvement in their ability to stay within the lines, even with small pictures.

Coloring is more than simply busy work. It’s a way to develop children’s coordination, a form of rehab after accidents and strokes, keeps arthritic fingers active, and often leads to a hobby in some form of art.  With Alzheimer’s patients, it helps keep their minds and fingers active.

There’s an interesting article, Coloring Pictures Is a Lot More Than Just Fun, at Better Parenting that explains the benefits of coloring for your youngsters…for learning and for fun.  I’ve even sat down with youngsters and colored, trying out various drawing/coloring items and materials.

It can become a grand experience in artistic discovery as well as muscle development and coordination.

How have you used coloring and art in your family or at school?

(Amazon image)

Post from: Blisstree

Do Your Youngsters Like to Color & Draw?

As a part of being the new writer for A Dozen Steps, I thought it would be my responsibility to search out other alcoholic recovery resources that I might reference and with which I could develop new relationships.

I’ve found a few that I’ll no doubt refer to in the very near future. Today, I’d like to mention AAwakenings because AAwoken seems to do some research also and I found this entry interesting;

Pandora’s Box?

Trudge left a comment that I can identify with – “With me I was alway run after that very first buzz. I never caught up.”

That will be an entire post of its own, but the basics were that I also hunted for that same effect as the first high, never to find it again. A lifetime of disappointment until I was blessed with sober.

That isn’t what I’d really like to talk about tho’.

AAwoken talked about an article at New Scientist.

I’ve categorized myself in a new category for A Dozen Steps – “Opinion” because it will be more appropriate for this post and this;

This article expounds on the possible benefits of a new drug cocktail that will mimic the pleasurable effects of alcohol without the downside. Hence the title – I Want A New Drug – One That Won’t Make Me Sick.

“All the pleasures of alcohol, with no downsides” is written by Grahame Lawton who quotes psychopharmacologist David Nutt of the University of Bristol in the UK. It is my personal opinion that this would read better had it said “psycho pharmacologist” and the poor guys’ name had to be “Nutt” didn’t it? Just my personal opinion.

After much yakety-yak about receptors and subtypes and hippocampus’s and partial agonists (hey, what good alky really gives a d** about that LOL) we’re finally told that “The trick pharmacologists need to pull off is to make a mixture of molecules that deliver alcohol’s pleasurable effects, notably relaxation and sociability, without the aggression, nausea, loss of coordination and amnesia that can cause drinkers and those around them so much grief.”

They think they can “trick” the disease. Ha! Of course, once again, that’s just my personal opinion.

A Sober, Clean Day To All,

Mark

Post from: Blisstree

I Want A New Drug – One That Won’t Make Me Sick