December is a month where we accumulate far too much. Anya has her birthday and then a couple of weeks later it’s Christmas. Apart from giving stuff to charity, I also don’t let Anya open all her presents at once. Do you do the same or am I the only mean mama? I seriously don’t think any kid can really appreciate 10-15 presents in one go or even 5. So she is allowed to open the wrapping but not the gift itself. I keep them away and come a rainy day in January/February when it’s too cold or wet, she always has something to do. Last week on one such day she opened this beautiful coloured sand Djeco craft kit and she was hooked for hours.
As you probably know, adult colouring books have become really popular in the last year or so. There have been many detailed and intricate colouring books popping up all over the place. The whole ‘adult colouring revolution’ has kind of passed me by as I never even considered trying it out. In December Anya was gifted Animal Kingdom – A Colouring Book Adventure for her birthday. I barely glanced at it until Anya asked me to colour with her. She often asks me to do this with her but up to now it’s been with her kiddy colouring books which I would colour in for about 5 minutes and lose interest.
Once I started colouring in this book, I couldn’t stop. I loved it! I think it re-awakened the inner child in me but yet it was so much more interesting to colour than a regular kids colouring book. And not only me but Anya is loving this book too. Even though these books are sold more as adult colouring books, I think they are for any age over around 5 years old. When I first saw it I thought the patterns may be a bit too intricate for Anya but I was wrong. In fact it’s the minute details that capture her attention and mine.
I think the best thing about the Animal Kingdom colouring book for me was that it was a shared activity that both Anya and I enjoyed doing together. No screens, no distractions, no thinking – just me and Anya colouring together and chatting a lot. We both switched off from the world around us and were immersed in colouring and talking about anything and everything. So much so that when it was time to go out for lunch, neither of us wanted to leave and we even started thinking up excuses to cancel our plans!
Have you got one of these books? If not, do you think you will give colouring a go in 2016?
We love colouring in this house. Anya of course loves it but she often asks me to colour with her and I find it quite therapeutic. Recently, while on holiday during half-term, Anya even got Richard involved and the three of us spent a rainy afternoon colouring (who said we don’t know how to live!). As with story books, I try and look out for fun, unusual and unique colouring books and this one called Evolution: A Colouring Book is exactly that. It’s Anya’s current favourite (and mine!).
Evolution is a colouring book as well as a book on evolution. As a colouring book it’s interactive with flaps, die-cuts, stencils and mix and match pages and then you have the text on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The facts are presented simply so it’s ideal for kids especially 6-8 year olds. Anya has been asking a lot of questions on evolution lately and this book is a great introduction to the concept. But the fact that it’s an interactive colouring book too makes it even more engaging for a child. It’s unusual to find a colouring book that teaches and is interactive and that’s why I love Evolution as it is so much more than just a coloring book. This book would make a great gift too especially with Christmas coming up.
Whenever there are holidays coming up, I try and stock up on a few ‘at home’ activities for Anya specially for those days where I am either too busy to play much or we can’t go out for whatever reason. Luckily this Easter we are going away so I haven’t needed to plan but if you’re staying home and looking for some indoor entertainment, these new giant colouring posters from Omy could be just the thing. When they say giant they really do mean giant as the posters are 1.8 metres long! That means a lot of colouring. The posters can be put up on a wall or simply laid out on the floor and the colouring can begin. There are Paris, London and New York city posters as well as a world map poster and you can find a selection at Petit Home. If you feel like it, you can join in the colouring fun too. I know I would have to have a go.
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Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
