Do you want a wonderful way to fill your world with color and have a soothing, calming experience? The Color Meditation Deck by Lisa Solomon is an enjoyable way to spend time with your grandchildren and talk as you create art. Conversations seem to flow as you paint together.
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Color mediation for children
I took my Color Meditation Deck with me when we went to visit my daughter and her family. My two grandchildren, my daughter and I had fun creating together. It is a great activity to do with children! Children are naturally creative and love to play with color and paint without worrying about the finished product. I was impressed with the art they created.
Color meditation is good for any age
It was nice to have an activity that is enjoyable for a variety of ages. The Color Meditation Deck could be a fun experience to share at a family reunion or other group gathering. You don’t need to be an artist to enjoy it. One of things I liked about doing it with my grandchildren and daughter was it gave us time to talk as we worked while painting. It’s easy for conversations to flow as you create.
I have used mine over and over when I want to paint, but don’t know what I want to paint. It’s calming to play with the colors and create art without having high expectations for a finished product. The joy is in the process and experience.
What’s included:
The Color Meditation Deck comes inside a nice sturdy box with a lid that easily opens and stays secure when shut with a magnet. When you open it you will find a small book written by Lisa Solomon with an introduction to color meditation, a crash course in color theory, recommended supplies and how to use the deck. There are 52 5×5 inch color meditation prompt cards in the deck with an example of a color exercise you can do on the front and a short explanation on the back.
How to use the Color Meditation Deck
To get started choose a card, follow the pattern on the front and start painting. If you want more ideas read the suggestions on the back. I tend to enjoy the experience more if I don’t overthink it. It is very calming to “get in the zone” and just paint for fun. Some of the exercises have produced something I really like, others aren’t anything special to look at, but it was still enjoyable to experiment and create something.
Colorful books
Before or after you have a color meditation experience with your grandchildren you may want to share some books with color inspiration. Here’s some you might enjoy.
Pocket Full Of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo and Jaqueline Tourville
Even as a young girl Mary Blair loved color and dreamed of traveling. As she got older she immersed herself in color and different cultures. Walt Disney believed in Mary and her art. She helped create art for many of Disney’s projects and the It’s A Small World attraction for Disneyland. This picture book biography of Mary Blair is filled with bright, colorful illustrations similar to the kind art she created.
Ship In A Bottle by Andrew Prahin
The illustrations in this book would be a good example of using a limited color palette. Andrew Prahin is the author and illustrator. I love the few colors he used to create such beautiful scenes. This is a delightful story about adventure and friendship.
Mouse lived in a bottle with a ship. She was anxious to get away from Cat so she filled her bottle with gingersnaps and went in search of a new home. As Mouse sails down the river she faces danger but continues on. When she lands on the shore of a big city she is welcomed at last by friends of all shapes and sizes.
Mister Rogers’ Gift of Music by Donna Cangelosi
The illustrator, Amanda Calatzis, used color to help convey different moods or feelings in this story. When Fred Rogers was a young boy he experienced loneliness, sadness and sickness. Ms Calatzis used gray and darker colors on the pages about his struggles.
The illustrations become more colorful as Fred Rogers discovers music and the joy he finds in sharing his music with others. When he created Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood he shared his music with children. He wrote his songs to help them feel special and loved. He also wrote his music to help them understand their emotions and feelings.
I thought this was a delightful book about Fred Rogers that young children will enjoy. The watercolor illustrations are beautiful and give the book a magical happy feeling. It is a good book to introduce Fred Rogers and all the good things he did.
If your grandchildren enjoy picture book biographies here are some more they might enjoy.
Do you need more great books or fun read aloud ideas?
I have lots of books and great ideas to share with you here!
To help you get started I have a list of 15 great read-aloud picture books you can download for free.
