Connecting Generations: Highlighting Time Between Us Coloring Pages
Hello and welcome back NEO Homeschoolers!! Today, I want to share a story... a Nana Day story. Don't know what Nana Day is? Let me explain. Every month, my mother-in-law (i.e., my kids' Nana) makes it a point to come up to our home for a visit. Usually, these visits include playing games, reading books, and maybe an outing together, plus lunch with my hubby. This Nana Day was different though.
One of the reasons I love creating a hub for homeschool families is that I get to meet all kinds of people with all kinds of interesting ideas, companies, and positive ways to contribute to homeschool life. Our Nana Day activity for November was no different. It started with an email from a company called, Time Between Us that creates coloring books aimed at connecting grandparents and grandkids in conversation. The coloring books are super cute too... inspired by 1950s America with pictures of kids and their grandparents doing activities ranging from sitting on the front porch to attending the county fair. Of course, my animal loving daughter picked the county fair as the page she wanted to color with Nana.
Once the coloring page had been picked, it was time to brainstorm some questions. Part of this activity is allowing kids to learn more about an older generation, giving grandparents the opportunity to remember and share stories from when they were younger. Maureen struggled with coming up with questions, so I helped her, drawing from our Thanksgiving unit study and suggesting asking Nana about what Thanksgiving traditions she had as a kid. Maureen liked that idea, and quickly moved on to another activity, so she only asked Nana the one question.
One thing I didn't realize is that each coloring page comes with questions alongside the picture that kids and grandparents can use as conversation starters if they struggle for questions. Anyway, back to the story.... Nana Day dawned sunny and a bit chilly. Maureen woke up super excited for Nana to come and started picking out what she wanted to do with Nana right away. Upon Nana's arrival, it was hugs and squeals of excitement followed by a couple rounds of Maureen's favorite board games... Memory and a reading game called "Lily Pond." While she & Nana were playing games, I got school ready for the day, including the coloring page Maureen had chosen and the question she wanted to ask Nana.
Once school was set up, I redirected Maureen's attention to the coloring page and question she wanted to talk about with Nana. Excitement took over, and the round of Lily Pond they'd been playing promptly got left on the floor, unfinished. With a bit of explanation for my mother-in-law, Maureen and Nana got to work coloring and chatting. Nana was thrilled to be able to connect with Maureen and share a story about her childhood. Her Thanksgiving tradition story reminded me so much of the Thanksgivings we now share at her house each year....
As a child, Nana's mom would invite their extended family over every year for a feast that she'd spend hours in the kitchen preparing. Those invited included grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins from both sides of Nana's family as a kid and the feast was extensive with turkey, veggies, mashed potatoes.. the works.. all shared around a long table that stretched across a couple rooms of Nana's childhood home. Nana shared that in total, there would often be around 25 people gathered for Thanksgiving at her childhood home, and that her love of having family together for the holidays stems from those memories of childhood Thanksgivings surrounded by extended family.
I loved the sweet story and the closeness that was so obvious between Nana and Maureen... the two of them huddled together over the coloring page at the kitchen table, sharing stories and coloring together is a picture I will never forget.
With the county fair picture colored, Maureen was ready for more individualized Nana time, so she raced upstairs to her bedroom to find one of her current favorite books, telling Nana, "I want to read a book!" The book she came back down with was titled, "Worm Weather," and quickly became one of Nana's favorite books as well. Sharing that she loved any book that had to do with the outdoors, Nana happily read "Worm Weather" to Maureen, pausing on each page to talk about the pictures and what various words meant. Maureen ate it up and eagerly shared her own thoughts and insights with Nana as they read.
Nana Day ended with some conversation about our Thanksgiving plans for this year and some greatly appreciated snuggles before Nana left to go home and I took Maureen and her younger brother to a doctor appointment.
I am so grateful to Time Between Us for their offer of letting Maureen try out their coloring book! It was truly a memorable experience, both for Maureen and my mother-in-law. I personally love the connection Time Between Us encouraged. It's amazing how a simple coloring page can foster conversation, stories, and genuine connection between generations. The best part? Since Maureen only colored one picture with her Nana, we have continued opportunities for connection using the other 3-4 coloring pages. I'm positive there will be more coloring and story telling in the near future.
If you are interested in trying out Time Between Us, you can check out their coloring book and mission below. Their simple request is that you return to their website to leave feedback on this page so they can continue to improve their coloring pages for other families. And of course, if you try it out and enjoy the activity as much as we did, would you share Time Between Us with a friend? They'd greatly appreciate the word of mouth. As for me, that's it for now. I'm off to mom life and cinnamon rolls. Hope you all are enjoying this gorgeous fall weather... See you soon!
Wait!! Before you go...
Psst... NEO Homeschoolers!! Do you know someone you'd like to share Time Between Us with?
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