Skin Colored Pencils

I believe that skin colored pencils are an incredibly important writing tool, especially for early elementary writers who are learning that what they write should match the pictures. At the beginning of Kindergarten, children will draw stick figures using only their favorite color. Sometimes they give a family member green hair or red eyes. At the beginning of the year I let them experiment.

After a month or so of sustained writing I introduce skin colored pencils. In my first year, I mentioned that everyone has different colored skin and then handed the pencils off with a sigh of relief. I was helping children develop a positive identity! Phew... But the pencils can be used to generate a lot of rich discussion throughout the year. It's March and students are still processing what I taught them about choosing a color that matches their skin. At my small group today we had a conversation like this:


M: No, don't use that color. You're black. Get the black pencil.

Z: Oh....

Me: Hmm... is his skin really the color black? Let's check [holding a black pencil against Z's skin].

M: Oh, no! He isn't.

Z: That's right! I'm brown! Like my daddy [smiling].

K: What color am I?

Me: Let's see if we can find a pencil that matches your skin.

K: How about this one? What color is this?

Me: Gingerbread.

K: Mmm... Gingerbread. Like gingerbread cookies. I like that color!


I've had dozens of conversations like the one above this year. What I have come to realize is that the power comes from the repetition. Children need to hear that their particular shade of brown is beautiful and unique every day if we want them to internalize it. Several weeks later during lunch, K and I had a conversation at lunch that went something like this:

K: Ms. Haley, do you like gingerbread?

Me: Of course! It's delicious.

K: I'm gingerbread. [giggling] Gingerbread is delicious!


Our small conversation, which happened months later, showed that K had internalized a positive label for her skin color and emphasized to me the importance of bringing these conversations into our daily experience. Clearly, K is going to think about her skin color whether I bring it up or not, so why not offer her some productive language for that self talk? Children are bombarded with negative labels for their skin. Our job as educators is to offer them alternative labels over and over until they find something that fits with their personal narrative.