Rainy Day

So what do you get when you combine a rainy day and a house full of sick kids? Surprisingly enough, an interest in coloring books. Now I know that may seem like a no-brainer given the circumstances, but my boys have NEVER been interested in coloring books. However, this week they discovered them on the shelf and suddenly they were all the rage. They were Dover coloring books that my mom had given me. (Rainbow Resources http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php has a large selection of these "educational" coloring books.)

I thought we would never use them, but I put them on the shelf anyway. Engineer, who is also an avid birder, discovered The Book of State Birds and Flowers. Thinker grabbed The Book of Sailing Ships. Soon the copy machine was humming (there are always more than one kid who want the same picture) and the crayons were spilled everywhere.

Thinker was too sick to stay interested for long, but Engineer kept copying and coloring page after page. With each new page came interesting facts and questions. "Mom, did you know two states have a chicken for the state bird?" "Mom, why is the Baltimore Oriel named after the city of Baltimore when it must live other places too?" "Mom, look at the coloring on a thrush!" By dinnertime he had pretty well completed a "unit study" on state birds and flowers! It's amazing to me what kids will learn when information is available to them and when they have the time to follow an interest. Even if that is nothing more than coloring books on a rainy day.