Finding Your Past

The internet can be a portal to your past. Rediscover the joy of simple things like coloring pages and Legos just for the fun of it.

There is something to be said for a bit of nostalgia. You might be cleaning out and find old love notes or the CD you burned for your now ex-girlfriend. A song comes on the radio and you find yourself singing along. Fashions you thought had come and gone are back again and you just can’t decide if you want to give them a second try. After all, the first round of the eighties wasn’t too great for you style wise.

On a rainy afternoon, when you just happen to be thinking about your old self, you might try bringing back of those few old memories just for the simple amusement of it. Certain television shows even specialize in creating shows about the 70s, 80s or 90s. You can make your own mini-show right over your computer.

Finding Your Past
Your past is all over the internet. You can look it up through the white pages or do a more complex people search to see what happened to all your old buddies. MySpace actually has divided people into high schools and colleges which means you can spend hours reading about your ex girlfriend or crush without feeling like too much of a stalker. When you get bored with that, you can go back and relive even earlier memories.

The Early Stuff
Most of the toys you loved as a child are still around. Light-Brights, Barbies, Legos and more can be bought online and enjoyed again. If you feel funny buying yourself toys and don’t have a niece or nephew to use as an excuse, consider trying something else. Coloring pages and paper dolls are online now, too, through websites like TheDollPalace.com. You can spend time carefully shading in the coloring pages as a child, make up for lost time now. Grab a hairbrush and sunglasses and jam out the way you always wanted to the tunes of Tiffany or Slayer.

If you had a pretty normal childhood and still don’t care about the memories, you just haven’t fully experienced them yet. Have you kept up with old friends? Do you have all your favorite songs from high school on your iPod yet? If not, you probably just don’t know what you’re missing!

Keeping Kids Busy

Teachers and childcare workers know the miracle that a busy child produces. Suddenly, while a child is still and occupied, time is available to get other work finished, clean up after snacks or simply sit down for the first time in hours. Finding the activities to occupy the child, however, can definitely be more challenging than figuring out what to do with the quiet time. One of the favorite activities of all time requires a little hand-eye coordination and a lot of creativity – coloring pages.

Arts and Crafts
Kids love arts and crafts, and one of the best quiet time activities is the coloring page. Provide younger students with a coloring page and minutes tick by while children select the right colors and very carefully work to stay in the lines. The problem with these pages is so many copies must be run and the stacks of paper can be a hassle to deal with. Fortunately, some arts and crafts are going online.

Online Coloring Pages
Websites are beginning to produce online coloring pages for kids. These pages can have any style of artwork imaginable and can be colored using the computer. As most children already love the computer, this is a perfect mix for a quiet time activity as well as a way to avoid more paper stacks in a classroom.

Simply sit a child in front of the computer and pull up a coloring page. The child will stay occupied while building up the critical computer usage skills so necessary in the world today. When the picture is complete, it can be printed out or cleared for another try.

Online coloring pages aren’t just for young children, however. Older children may enjoy the coloring pages, too. School age girls especially enjoy doll coloring pages from websites such as TheDollPalace.com where favorite teenage celebrities and other dolls make the perfect online coloring pages.

Coloring is More Than Fun?
As any parent or teacher can tell you, coloring can be more than simply a nice time-filling activity. Practicing coloring helps to develop fine motor skills and the actual pictures can help children develop insight or knowledge about a particular item or theme. Sometimes, however, it is more fun than anything else.

When a girl sits down to color an outfit on her favorite singer or a boy is able to give life to his favorite cartoon character, it is simply a pleasure to watch. The world that we live in life moves so quickly that sometimes a gentle break can make a tremendous difference in a child’s stress level and productivity.

If students are pushed every minute they are in the classroom, regardless of age, they will eventually burn out, especially at a young age. Older children live frantic lives between school and extracurricular activities. Coloring pages help soothe the psyche for many children and give a respite in the middle of an otherwise chaotic lifestyle.