More Things To Do Colouring Book: Quiet Afternoon Ideas
By Orchard Toys | Published: 2026-11-03
Category: How-to Guides
Turn a slow afternoon into a calm, screen-free session with More Things To Do Colouring Book. Follow these steps to set up, pace, and extend the activity.
Quick answer
Set up More Things To Do Colouring Book as a short, structured quiet-time routine: choose one page, work through it together, then let your child finish with stickers. This keeps the afternoon screen-free and gives the activity a clear start and end.
Why this book works for quiet afternoons
More Things To Do Colouring Book mixes colouring with word searches, crosswords, addition, and dot-to-dots, so it suits children who lose interest in plain colouring. The increasing difficulty means you can pick an easier page on a tired afternoon and save harder ones for when your child wants a challenge.
The 45 stickers are a practical finish line. Use them as a reward for completing a page rather than handing them out at the start, or the colouring becomes secondary.
When this book is not the right fit
If your child is still learning to read or write, the word searches and crosswords may need heavy adult support; in that case, stick to colouring and dot-to-dots and treat the rest as together-time. Also, because the book includes numeracy and literacy tasks, it is not a pure colouring book for children who only want to colour.
For a very short wait, such as a restaurant pause, bring a single page rather than the whole book so the choice does not become overwhelming.
How to run a quiet afternoon with More Things To Do Colouring Book
- Set a clear time limit: Decide on 20–30 minutes and tell your child before you start. Choose one page together, such as a dot-to-dot for a younger child or a word search for an older one. Common mistake: opening the book and letting them flip through every page, which turns the activity into browsing rather than doing. A visible timer helps children accept the end of the session.
- Prepare the space: Clear a table, put out colouring pencils or crayons, and keep the sticker sheet to one side. If the page includes a word search or crossword, add a pencil and eraser. Common mistake: leaving the sticker sheet within reach, which distracts from the colouring and puzzles. Keep the sticker sheet face down until the final step.
- Work through the page in order: For pages with mixed activities, do the colouring first, then the numeracy or literacy task, then the dot-to-dot if there is one. This order uses the calming part of the activity first and saves the thinking part for when your child is settled. Common mistake: jumping straight to the puzzle and then rushing the colouring. If your child is tired, stop after the colouring and save the puzzle for next time.
- Use the stickers as a finish line: When the page is complete, let your child choose one or two stickers and place them on the page or a reward chart. This marks the end of the session clearly. Common mistake: giving stickers at the start as an incentive, which reduces their value as a completion reward. One sticker per completed page keeps the reward meaningful across the book.
- Close the session and reset: Put the book and pencils away together, and note the next page you want to try. This makes the next quiet afternoon easier to start. Common mistake: leaving the book open on the table, which invites unstructured flipping later and can lead to lost pieces or torn pages. A bookmark or sticky note on the next page saves time and keeps the routine predictable.
Product facts
- More Things To Do Colouring Book: Features both numeracy and literacy activities, including word searches, crosswords, addition, and dot-to-dots, plus bold pictures to colour. You can rotate page types to match your child's mood and keep the afternoon varied without switching books.
More Things To Do Colouring Book - More Things To Do Colouring Book: Offers increasing levels of difficulty for progressive learning. Start with an easier page and move up only when your child is engaged, which avoids frustration on a quiet afternoon.
- More Things To Do Colouring Book: Includes 45 stickers and familiar Orchard Toys characters. The stickers give a clear reward for finishing a page, and the characters help younger children connect with the activities.
