MARY Kids – Painting
MARY Kids · Volume 1
Painting, the power of color
12 art-therapy-inspired activities to share with a child, ages 4 to 10
No need to know how to draw. There's nothing to get right.
Just a moment to share.
The printed book
Choose your language:
On Amazon
In English
“Painting” arrives in early November, delivered in a few days in the UK, the US and Europe.
Coming soonSee my books on Amazon
On Amazon
In French and Portuguese
“Peindre” is coming out now in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Portugal. “Pintar” arrives in early November.
Coming soonSee my books on Amazon
In Portugal
On Amazon, or by hand
Amazon also delivers to Portugal. Do you live in the Mafra municipality? Write to me and I'll hand it to you in person, signed if you wish.
Coming soon
The book is printed to order and delivered by Amazon: allow about 9 days. To have it under the tree, order early, by around 12 December at the latest.
Free with the book
A bonus to download
A little workshop to print, which changes with the seasons and holidays: winter and Christmas, Easter, Halloween… Right now, three winter activities to share before Christmas.
Get the bonusWhy painting with a child does you both good
Before the age of ten or twelve, it is hard to say what you feel. The emotions are there, strong, but the words are missing. Painting offers another way: you show instead of explaining.
Studies agree: a few minutes of drawing are enough to lift a child's mood, and painting together on the same sheet softens the relationship. This book invites you to live it at home, simply, with very little material.
What's inside this book
Each activity fits on a double page: on the left, the page for you (why the activity does good, what to prepare, the steps, the words to accompany, tips by age); on the right, the page for the child, to read together or look at alone.
The 12 activities
- My heart's weather
- Lines that talk
- My face of the day
- Painting to music
- My funny monster
- Blowing colors
- My magic hands
- My secret hideaway
- One sheet for two
- The magic blot
- The tree of people I love
- My little steps to tomorrow
And also
- a letter for you, and what studies say about color and children
- your role: present, without taking over, with the phrases that open up
- each age has its own way of creating, from 4 to 10
- a week of weather to color, a little artist's diploma and a gallery
A real look inside
Who am I
I'm Lenon B, a painter based in Ericeira, Portugal, trained in art therapy. I run the MARY workshops (Make Art Reconnect Yourself). After the notebooks for adults, I wanted to offer children, and the adults beside them, these shared moments of color.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to know how to draw?
No, neither you nor the child. Here, we're not looking for pretty, we're looking for a moment together.
What materials do we need?
Very little: poster paint or washable paint, two or three brushes, thick paper, colored pencils or felt-tip pens, and a pot of water.
What age is it for?
Ages 4 to 10, with an adult. Each activity gives tips to adapt it to the child's age.
Do we paint in the book?
The activities are done on separate sheets, to keep the book clean and do them again as often as you like. A few pages at the end are for coloring directly.
Is there a PDF or Kindle version?
No. It's a printed book, in color, so it stays close at hand.
Is this therapy?
No. These are creative wellbeing activities inspired by art therapy. They don't replace medical or psychological advice.
Every child carries within them colors
the world has not yet seen.
Continue your visit
← The MARY Kids free bonus
← The wellbeing notebooks for adults
← MARY: studio sessions, blog and notebooks