From what I’ve read, philosophies like Montessori and Waldorf don’t subscribe to the idea of coloring books, and their reasoning behind make total sense: it takes away the creativity of the child.
True.
I mean, it does encourage you to color within the lines, and follow a certain look rather than making something from scratch that you can totally own. I think it’s different when coloring is used to cultivate attention to detail, learn anatomy, etc, though (that’s for another day for another topic).
That being said, we don’t really have or use coloring books at home, atleast not yet. But I did buy these wonderful coloring books!
I bought them not really for their coloring feature, but because they’re nice drawings/ sketches of our culture. I feel that when the time comes and we’re reading for some History exploration of our very own buildings and designs, these could be great companions in understanding foundations, architecture, styles based on some eras, patterns of our local weaves, etc. I mean, of course, if my son wants to color them after observing them, I feel that’s a great tool to cultivate attention to detail, too, so I will definitely support that.
Tip: for families here who love to travel, you can bring these coloring books when you visit the actual sites! They’re actually great travel guides for our culture and history!
Moving on, introducing my favorite local coloring books finds!
Book #1: HUE CAN DO IT MANILA (Color Your Way Through The City)
Published By: Summit Books, 2015
This book is probably my favorite in this list. Not only are the pages beautifully illustrated by Asa Montenejo, they are actual architectural sites found all over Manila. Such a great reminder of our skill and our history. I would definitely use this as reference when I plan a Philippine Architecure Hunt Around Manila for my son someday.
Unfortunately…this book is sooooo hard to find nowadays. Thankfully, there was one piece sold by Mt. Cloud in Baguio! I hope you can find a copy, too.
BOOK #2: KULAY PAMANA: PHILIPPINE ANCESTRAL HOUSES (A Coloring Book)
Published By: Grupo Kalinangan, 2016
If Hue Can Do It Manila concentrates on Philippine Architecture around Manila, this book focuses on Ancestral Homes all over the Philippines! I love how this is a great travel reference for those interested in History and Architecture, too. There’s a description for each home as well as the year it was built. I bought this from Lazada, and my only complaint is the packaging! I’m pretty sure you can spot the dents. 🙁
BOOK #3: TEXTILES OF THE PHILIPPINES (A Resource Coloring Book)
By: PJ Gubatina Policarpio and Ida Noelle Calumpang (illustrator), 2016
This coloring book is a great resource for Indigenous Philippine Textile from the following groups: Ifugao, Bagobo, Yakan, Tausug. I bought this from my favorite bookstore in Baguio (Mt. Cloud), and honestly, I have not seen it anywhere else. There’s a similar coloring book on my list (Lumad: A Coloring Book) by Salupongan Org, and that one goes beyond the patterns and you can also color people and other background elements. I’m planning to get a copy of that one next time, too.
BOOK #4: ANG INKREDIBLE COLORING BOOK FOR BIG AND SMALL PEOPLE (#2)!
Anvil Publishing Inc, 2016
This last one feels a bit too chaotic for me — there are so many thing going on per page, but I still bought it because of the elements featured.
I love how this focuses on our culture as a whole – from Sari-Sari stores to jeepney rides to festivals to boodle fights to bayanihan to harana even! I forgot where I bought this, but I think this is still available in our regular bookstores. There’s a similar coloring book to this one called Color Me Doodle: Coloring Adventure of the Philippines For Grown-Ups by Mark Dean Lim.
#5: FREE PRINTABLE (PHILIPPINE FISH)
Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts came up with this FREE coloring book – and it’s all about local fish here! Click on THIS LINK to download a copy.
OTHERS:
NCCA PAPER CRAFT SERIES (FREE)
Although it’s not a coloring book, it’s cool and it’s FREE, so I’m also sharing here NCCA’s Paper Craft Series — featuring our country’s beautiful historical sites. All you need to do is download the pdf file, print, and create! I think the link is protected, so I cannot seem to share it, but if you google NCCA PAPER CRAFT SERIES, it should come out and you’ll have lots of options for downloading and creating!
NQC’S QUINCENTENNIAL PAPER CRAFTS (FREE)
Also not a coloring book, but HERE, you will find paper doll models of people like Lapu-Lapu, Antonio Pigafetta, Enrique De Malacca, etc. It’s so nice, and so reminiscent of the paper dolls I used to play with in my childhood years!
FREE CRAYON PRINTABLES (IN FILIPINO LANGUAGE):
This is not a coloring book as well, but Googly Gooeys has a cool printable for your crayons — colors in the Filipino Language. Download it HERE.
Lastly, although this is no longer contained to just Philippine culture, did you know that you can download FREE COLORING BOOKS from 113 Museums? How amazing is that??? Click THIS to start browsing and downloading! You’re welcome! Enjoy!
1 Comment
Was just searching for coloring materials and coloring books for myself and saw your blog. Thank you, super! Ang dami palang resources na ganito. 🙂