I do love to color. I like practicing different techniques, like dark outlines with lighter filling in. Or, coloring all in one direction for one color and then coloring in a perpendicular direction for a color next to that one. Shading, mixing colors, coloring things the “wrong” color. I always surprise myself by how much I enjoy it and how relaxing it is!
But my favorite thing about coloring is coloring with my kids. We recently brought home a big pack of colored pencils and, I and my three kids, sat down at the table on a rainy day and ate cookies and colored for FOUR HOURS! Even my seven year old son loved it! We drew our names in bubble or block letters and colored them in with different patterns, we drew those random swirly doodles and then colored each little section in a different color. My ten year old daughter, of course, drew horses because she always draws horses. She also likes to draw her future dream farm which always includes a guest house on her property for me to come and live with her (she knows Daddy is more of a city boy). My 13 year old daughter colored and folded cootie catchers and made us play endless rounds and told us our future. It was so fun!
I heard stories that I hadn’t heard about school or their friends. They asked me questions about what I liked to do when I was little. It was the definition of quality time and I vacillated between feeling so elated about the fun we were having together and ashamed for not doing it more often. And guess what, we probably had something for dinner that night, but none of us remember what I made, but we all keep saying, “We should color, again!” Coloring, paper dolls, Legos, puzzles, blocks, there’s something about just stopping and enjoying the simplicity of our kids’ creative side.
So! I found these adorable printable paper dolls, perfect for the season. There’s a boy set and a girl set. Someone suggested laminating the sheet first and then cutting them out. Paper dolls are such a fun, old-fashioned activity. When I was little, every time I would have to stay home sick from school, my mom would get me paper dolls and a Seven-up with a bendy straw. Our kids will remember the time we spend with them and laughs we laugh with them for a lot longer than the things we buy for them.
Have fun!
This post brought to you by Jenny Leggett, who will spare you any deeper, more embarrassing confessions.