Play Library » Colouring Books and other Activity Books

Christmas Printables

Julie Bonner — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:57:12 +0000

My kids LOVE to print crafts and coloring pages off of the computer. We often will print birthday cards or thank you cards and they will decorate them themselves. At Christmas time I print off coloring pages to keep my younger one busy during the break. Oh that Christmas break can get long towards the end can’t it? Here is a list of Christmas printables that I think you and your kids will enjoy:

via Printables4Kids

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Coloring for the Perfectionist Child

Julie Bonner — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:31:30 +0000

All three of my kids are perfectionist. (I don’t know where they get it from.) When it comes to art though, my boys are the most particular.

My 3 year old will get so frustrated when he draws outside of the lines. Side note: me reminding him that he is only three and he colors very well for a 3 year old, does NOT help one bit.

He still continues to color and get frustrated, but we are working through that slowly.

One of his grandmas sent him something a couple of months ago that just made his day. It’s a Disney Magic Pen Painting Book. He absolutely loves it and so do I! Yes, I have seen these before and they’ve been around for awhile, but I hadn’t considered getting him one.

This little book has kept him entertained and feeling like the greatest artist around the block and for that, I am very thankful. Whenever he starts to get really frustrated at the conventional coloring (lol!) we break out the magic!

I have been very pleased with this book and the pen is still going strong. We also have a Dora Surprise Ink Game Book and the pen did not last long at all. He still has a lot of book to color but no working pen. I’m not sure if it’s something we did or what, but the other pen seems to be much better.

So, if you have a perfectionist child in your family and need a break from time to time, I would highly recommend Magic Pen Painting. It’s also AWESOME for car trips! We are driving from Georgia to Colorado for Christmas, so you can bet I’ll be getting a few more of these.

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Roadtrip Travel Toy: Water WOW

Kerri Aldrich — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:09:31 +0000

One of my favorite finds this spring was the Water Wow! line of “coloring books” from Giddy Up. Including Backyardigans, Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street themed Water Wow! Doodle Books, these little books provide a clean, stain-free experience for your kids.

I didn’t actually purchase them for the car, but rather for my in-laws’ house. They recently moved back to our area, and I wanted to bring something to their new house that the kids could play with, but that wouldn’t risk ruining anything that didn’t belong to us. The Water WOW sets come with a sturdy tablet of about 4 pictures that can be “colored” with the water pen. It’s not a long-term source of entertainment, but it is nice because the colors disappear when the tablet pages dry out. So, it’s nice to have at my in-laws’ house because it’s a novel toy that we don’t have at home, and it’s ready to reuse each time we show up.

They remind me of those “watercolor books” from when we were little. Do you remember those? The pages of the books were white, but you could see little dots of color in groups over the pages. You could get a wet paint brush or a Q-tip and “paint” the pages of the book. I went looking for those a couple of years ago and couldn’t find any. Anyone else remember those?

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The Seven Continents of the World Jigsaw Book

Kerri Aldrich — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:39:18 +0000

My daughter’s been enjoying her copy of The Seven Continents of the World Jigsaw Book.

The book contains colorful illustrations of each of the seven continents of the world (but you could’ve figured that out now, couldn’t you? ). Each of the 7 puzzles is made up of 48 pieces, and the images include the animals, crops, and other information about the land and surrounding waters.

The opposing page of each puzzle shows the complete image to help guide you as you complete the puzzle, contains bits of trivia about each area, and also has prompts for “I Spy” types of searches for each image. Our copy came with a plastic sleeve wrapped around each of the puzzles. I’d recommend keeping the sleeves on to prevent all the pieces from getting loose and mixing up altogether, unless you’re looking for a good puzzle challenge!

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I Spy Books

Kerri Aldrich — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 03:27:26 +0000

Hsien asked for some of our favorite books, and it made me think of the “I Spy” series. While I don’t expect it to make the list of books that my son holds near and dear from his childhood, there are times right now when the “I Spy” books save the day!

My middle child is a bit rambunctious (and by a bit, I mean a lot), and seems to be going a mile a minute from the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, I really need for him to be able to just sit for a bit. That’s where the “I Spy” books come in. I think we first saw them when they came free in the Chick-fil-a kids’ meals. He loved finding all of the objects in the list, and the task of finding them caused him to focus and sit still for just a moment. Ahhh…what a moment. So, for Christmas, we bought him a few more of the books, and some of the items are pretty hard to find! But it challenges him, entertains him, and gives us a quiet, sedentary activity to enjoy in the midst of our crazy days.

What are your favorite books for bringing a bit of peace to a frantic day?

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National Geographic Kids Magazine

Kerri Aldrich — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:38:31 +0000

Have you been over to the National Geographic Kids website? How fun! I just learned about a bird that “flies” underwater to gather aquatic insects to feed its family. And the coolest part? There was a video of it! Too, too cool.

I’d headed over there because my super cool awesome former nanny friend bought my daughter a subscription to the National Geographic Kids magazine for her birthday, and we just received the first issue yesterday. What a fun magazine! In this first issue we’re already finding great photos, fun joke pages (you know kids love a good joke!), features on animal rescue shelters, and a chart to help you pick the perfect pet (my daughter was really excited about that!). The last page included a Mad Libs type activity, and also featured some original drawings from their readers.

I remember receiving the magazine Highlights for Children from my godmother when I was a kid. We would be so excited to receive our own mail and our own magazine. The stories and puzzles and games were so fun, and it was a gift that was new every month! My daughter seems as excited as I used to be for this gift. And now, when she asks (as she does every day), “Is there any mail for me?”, I can answer her, at least once a month, “Yep, honey, just for you.”

Do your kids have a favorite magazine or activity book?

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Fun and Interactive Priddy Books for Children

Lei — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:59:52 +0000

Books you can write in! What a dream. We’ve become big fans of the Wipe Clean range of Priddy Books. They all come with a black dry erase marker and lots of different activities like connect the dots, tracing, mazes, and anything else your child can think of to do with a pen. The scribbles are easy to erase with a dry tissue even after the ink has been left on the page for days. And because the shiny pages are so slick, the dry erase marker glides easily across and makes it a cinch for children just learning how to control a pen.

Tags: priddy books, wipe clean, dry erase, books, children, kids, learning, parenting, family

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Nick Jr. Valentine’s Cards, Coloring and Crafts

Kerri Aldrich — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 18:29:56 +0000

The roads around here are covered in snow and ice, and I’m guessing that there are a lot of kids around the Midwest who are bummed today at missing their class Valentine’s Day parties!

Well, if you have a few of those kids hanging around your house today, and you’re looking for ways to cheer them up, head on over to the Nick Jr. website to print up a few Valentine themed coloring pages and check out their craft ideas. Or, let your little one spread a little love by sending Valentine’s e-cards to their friends, aunts, uncles, or grandparents!

And for more Valentine craft ideas, head on over to Thrifty Mommy and check out Karen’s Valentine’s craft ideas and links to others’ ideas as well.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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You Can Draw Star Wars

Lei — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:08:03 +0000

Please excuse this proud mother moment. My son has apparently been impressing his teachers with his drawings. So imaginative! So full of detail! So fantastic! Rumor has it that one of his sketches will be framed and displayed somewhere at school. (I’ll take a pic of it if/when that happens.)

In any case, a sure fire way to occupy him for extended periods is to hand him a 5 x 7 notebook and a pen. One of his favorite themes to draw is space and Star Wars always elicits a breathless WOW. So when I saw the newest You Can Draw: Star Wars published by DK, I ordered it pronto!

Broken down into easy-to-read sections the book covers everything you need to know about drawing characters and vehicles from start to finish. Develop drawing skills using step-by-step instructions, trace overlays, foldout pages and stencils. Discover how to draw clothing and weapons for your characters. Learn the same penciling, inking and coloring techniques professional comic book artists use. Plus get useful tips on how to make your own comic book!

The book might be too advanced for a four-year-old, but you never know. Regardless, it will be a source of inspiration. Online tutorials are also available at StarWars.com. We already have a droid group waiting for their portrait.

Update: Here’s the You Can Draw Star Wars MySpace.

HT: Boing Boing

Tags: star wars, you can draw, books, children, kids, droids, toys, movies, family, parenting, art, drawing

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Winter Computer Games and Activities

Kerri Aldrich — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 04:33:02 +0000

Your kids are home on school break and you’re trying to keep them occupied while you finish up all those last minute holiday surprises? Well, here’s one option for you. Kaboose has some fun winter games to keep your little one busy. And if you’re looking for an activity that can be taken off line or can be used to keep the attention of a younger child, print up these adorable “12 Days of Christmas” coloring pages featuring the Nick Jr. characters.

What safe kids’ websites do your children enjoy visiting?

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