Speech therapists know that when you get kids drawing, a story is starting. This week I have been testing a new product called “Doodle Roll,” our newest PAL Award winner. It is a portable dispenser of a 30″ roll of drawing paper and an attached compartment for your crayons. Kids couldn’t wait to get started as they created their story, unrolled more paper for the next sequence and then used the plastic packaging to tear off their banner of fun. I used it with a girl working on the last stages of /r/ production. She wrote and illustrated her story using her -/or/ words and then “presented” the finished product to me. We videotaped her production for her mother. Kids were fascinated with the length of their art work and loved taping it to the kitchen counter, fireplace and refrigerator (although they were so wide we couldn’t get the door open!) At only $5.99 this is right in a speech therapist’s budget.
Here is my review:
Wow, did we have fun with our Doodle Roll! Kids were inspired by the seemingly endless roll of paper as they dove right into illustrating their story. A 4 year-old boy began with an alien landing on earth with his armed guards and ended with a fiery blast back to his homeland, while an 8 year-old girl told an intriguing story about exploring a scary cave. Hands and mouths were moving equally in earnest as the stories flowed through their imagined sequence. Such a simple idea, pairing a small roll of paper and handy crayons for kids, produces a big educational opportunity as children become authors and illustrators of their stories. No teacher has to stand over them to teach them to write a beginning, middle and end, or present a problem, solve it and write a conclusion. Their little drawings bridge the gap and help the ideas flow. Doodle Roll is a fantastic language learning tool that kids can’t put down.
Available at doodleroll.com.
Ages 3-10
Doodle Roll was provided for review by Imagination Brands, Co. LLC
