Children are busy bees. Rushing from classroom to classroom, children have quite a lot to do in one day in school. With health and safety standards constantly on the increase and an ever increasing litigous society, signs for schools are vital information for pupils. But, how we get children to read signs and pay attention, is a chore in itself.
Children Following Instructions
A sign, is an information source and in schools, there are many signs. Safety signs, cloakroom signs, classroom signs, the list is non-exhaustive. Children can follow instructions and for teachers, who are considered to children an authoritive voice, spend a lot of their day during children’s movements, telling them to slow down and keep the noise down. A boring sign, stuck on a door is not always going to attract a child’s attention, yet when a voice informs them curtly, they will listen. Listening is fine, but visually, the children will not look at signs. They will however, if they have designed the signs themselves.
School Signage is Simple and Easy to Follow
Allow the children to make it so. One way of encouraging children to read signs is to let them design the signs themselves. Schools are full of budding artists. They are our next generation of engineers, designers and world leaders. Teach our children how to lead and generate information that’s simple and easy to follow. School signage is necessary and vital not just for children, but for parents too.
Children Making Their Own School Signs
Yes and why not: It is their school: They spend the most time there: They are there for a few good years. Give children an opportunity to brighten up their surroundings and encourage team building, design techniques and explore their creativity. All vital qualities that will serve them well in their future careers. Leaving this to the older university students is one thing, start them young and get these creative little beings involved in their own surroundings and brightening schools up with school signs.
Classroom Are For Learning
Art is learning, as is creating and designing. Children have art classes. Encouraging them to take care of their surroundings will not be lost. Hands up those of us who remember being told to tidy our desks and lockers on various occasions and were given a detention for untidyness? Give children a chance, we may never know what they will create. Put together teams of children and give them the blank canvas, we could have the next Van Gough sitting amongst our young.
There are many. Children have this undisclosed knack of being able to spill from their minds onto paper in no time at all. Not to mention seeing their creative ideas publicly displayed. A proud moment for any child to be able to show off their designs and to become an integral part of their own school and be proud of what they have achieved. Achievement is the key. Bringing out a healthy competitive streak by the winning sign being displayed and for the winning design to be kept by the child, will be something they can hand down to future generations. It also forms part of the school’s history and as adults, we do like to be reminded of our school days. The first thing we do when we look at old school photographs, is look for pictures of ourselves. To be a part of a school’s history is priceless. By encouraging children to design signs for schools, we are taking care of our next generation.
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Ross Davies writing for Signs 4 Eduaction the leaders in signs for schools and colleges.