School is back in session and I haven’t even snapped one single legitimate back-to-school photo for some reason.  Maybe because not every kid is always dressed in photo worthy attire at the same moment.  Or because our first days have been sort of anti-climatic.  (This morning I started the day out by artfully dropping a glass bowl full of hummus – shattering the glass across the entire kitchen floor.  Despite our careful clean up both Bergen and I have received glass splinters in our feet already today.  It was even hummus that I used real tahini in so it tasted top-notch.  I don’t know which made me more sad – the loss of the glass bowl or the loss of the hummus.)

We do a lot of reading aloud in our school day.  (The first week my throat always feels a little sore and I get tired of the sound of my own voice.)  Our history curriculum is primarily done as a family and we read novels together each day too, as well as our poetry study.  (This year we’re kicking it off with Anne of Green Gables and Carl Sandburg.  I am rather disappointed in my children’s lack of natural affection for my favorite red haired orphan.)

During read aloud times the kids draw in their journals each morning but once they’ve finished that assignment there is still usually more reading time than drawing needs.  Over the years we have tried different methods during the read aloud times.  Some of the kids knit or crochet or work with clay.  It really depends on the day and the project.

This year when Timberdoodle made available a unique coloring book for a review, I immediately thought of our read aloud times.

Beautiful Coloring is both a coloring book and an art instruction book.  I chose Piper to be this recipient of this treasure.  (For many reasons.  Timberdoodle offers this with the 4th grade curriculum set and Piper Finn is in the fourth grade.  Also, she gets loads of her life needs met in the form of hand-me-downs — clothing, shoes, notebooks, books etc.  She just usually isn’t handed the brand new first anything.  So this felt right.  She also loves coloring and drawing.)

It’s a guided book with easy to follow instructions that aid the student in basic color language and knowledge.  It teaches the color wheel and is divided into warm and cool colors and other categories.  Techniques are taught with each page and you first do a small sample of the design or color work, then you color a larger example.  It’s the perfect companion for both independent work and work to do quietly while listening to a story being read.

The paper is thick so the colors are not bleeding on to the next page, something that I find frustrating in other coloring books.  Piper is completely capable of reading and following the instructions herself, which I appreciate and value as she moves slowly on toward more and more independent work.

You can buy Beautiful Coloring on Timberdoodle’s website alone or in their fourth grade curriculum kit.  

The skills she is picking up she is transferring to other art projects that she does in her free time or as school assignments.  It’s the perfect niche fit for us.

It’s also straightforward and stand alone enough for any parent to purchase this – not just for homeschool – but for a low key art guide and coloring book to add to their child’s collection of quiet activity options.

As I was typing up my review, my little artist was looking over my shoulder.  “You can tell them that I like it because it’s fun,” she said.  And so I asked what she liked about it.  “I just like that it’s for school but you enjoy what you’re doing.”

Which maybe doesn’t say so much about the rest of school, but speaks well for Beautiful Coloring.

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