a peek inside the fishbowl

This is related to yesterday’s post, which you can read right here.

One of the best parts of being a parent is that we get to relive a bit of our childhood and not look like a crazy person while we do it. If our kids are around we can play hopscotch, jump rope, go on the monkey bars AND splash around in the wading pool and not look like we’ve totally lost our marbles. This, of course, extends to activities in the home as well. Play-doh, Duplo, Sea Monkeys … it’s another chance for us to have some fun. This is partly why I enjoyed doing so many crafts with the girls when they were younger. I enjoyed getting out the scissors and the glue, the stickers and the stamps, and seeing what kind of cool things we can make out of them. Enter: colouring.

Colouring books have seen a huge resurgence. Someone, smartly, realized that colouring between the lines has a calming quality that can be compared to yoga and meditation. And it’s totally true.

For the past few months I’ve been on the lookout for an adult colouring book that suited me, and it took me awhile to find one that I liked. Many were too complicated or intricate. Many had designs that weren’t my style, and to be honest, I wanted something SIMPLE without being totally juvenile. And I didn’t want to think about picking colours either, I just wanted a fun design that I could colour mindlessly. And I found it: The Usborne Big Color by Numbers Book (which you can pick up on Amazon right here if you’re so inclined.)

It was exactly what I needed: a good variety of fun, simple designs that won’t take me a year to fill in. It’s so easy, and QUIET. I can sit down with a coffee and a bunch of markers and just GO. There’s no question about what colour I need to use, and each page is guaranteed to look great when I’m done. There’s no heavy thinking required. I can practically feel the chaos of my brain seeping away while I fill in the lines.

I see this colouring book as being one that’s fun for adults and kids to work on over the summer – together or alone – whether it’s a rainy day or just a calming activity to add to the bedtime routine.