Doodling is drawing a spontaneous set of marks of creating patterns on a blank page of paper. Some people draw faces, or recognizable objects while others go for more abstract patterns. Others may just write down a word and retrace it over and over with different highlights. There is no fixed or right way to create a doodle, as by definition it is merely a set of marks on a blank paper.
No matter what form doodling takes, the teacher is never happy to see a student doodling instead of taking notes. If it happens in your homeschool classroom often, you may not be feeling too kindly towards the homeschool student either. Perhaps you have already yelled at them and asked them to stop doodling and pay attention in class. Perfectly natural reaction, but is it the right one? Its only recently that instead of being dismissed as a total waste of time that doodling is now being seen as a possibly good thing.
Studies conducted by neuroscientists seems to show that doodling actually helps contribute to people staying focussed and being able to remember better. Not only does it appear that doodling allows the brain to grasp new concepts faster, it also helps in developing creative thoughts and ideas. Apparently when a person doodles, the way they process information and think up solutions to problems undergoes a drastic change. It is sort of like freeing up and using a part of the brain that one has not visited before.
Doodling during lectures and meetings apparently helps release stress, and helps the brain remain active during a potentially put- you – to – bed boring lecture.Some people even store information from what they are hearing in their doodles. Its sort of like a personal mind map of what they are able to understand of what is being spoken. Sort of like note taking but in doodle form. Anyway, the point is that not all doodle makers are wasting their time. Perhaps they are focussing on the lecture in their own way and may surprise you by remembering more than you think they should.
