Every Sunday, I spend an hour and a half with five three-year-olds at church. It’s an adventure, let me tell you. I’ve listened in on a lot of jabbering conversations about camping, marshmallows, death (I can’t believe how many discussions they’ve started about death), and the correct way to color.
Yesterday, as I was watching them color a page about the Holy Ghost, I noticed how different their coloring methods are. One scribbles over the entire page with several different colors. Another colors in certain parts, like the eyes or the mouths, with a single color and then flips it over and draws something on the back. Another colors in everything very carefully (well, as carefully as a three-year-old colors) in the right colors. Another rarely gets around to the coloring, as it takes him twice as long as the others to eat his snack.
I was joking with the husband after church about what a kid’s coloring M.O. says about future life prospects. Of course, you can’t predict what a three-year-old’s adult life with be like; but you can’t deny that kids have a very developed personality by three years. So, translating that into the writing world, here’s your writing challenge for this week:
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Write a scene showing a character’s traits as a young child that translate into a distinct aspect of personality later on in life.
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What a great prompt! Your Sunday school adventures sound really relatable; I definitely remember similar ones teaching my three and four year olds!
HAHAHAHAAAAA!!! I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you, but the way you see the kids in your ‘class.’ 🙂 Coloring as a personality predictor. Oh, man. Sigmund Freud would be proud of you. Hehe!
Haha, it’s okay, you can laugh at me. I am analyzing the personality of three-year-olds based on their coloring methods. And I’m glad you think old Ziggy would approve! Bah ha, I guess my German studies are getting the best of me.