See Play Do

See Play Do

A Kids Handbook 

 

 Beatnik Publishing

Hardback RRP $34.99, Paperback RRP $24.99, beatnikshop.com

See Play Do is a children’s activity book annual for children 3-9 years old, filled with art ideas, recipes, and indoor/outdoor play ideas. 

Make the everyday extraordinary! See Play Do follows a child’s day. When you wake up what sounds do you hear? Birds chirping, someone snoring? What do you see? What do you smell? What can you touch? From sunrise, through to getting ready for the day, playing outside, playing inside, eating, and finishing with bedtime and sleep, See Play Do focuses on familiar everyday rituals and activities by looking at them in a different way and extending them through ideas.

See Play Do encourages creative thought processes, celebrating art and the act of creation as a journey of exploratory play with no defined result. It is filled with activities that move children’s play away from devices and back to natural creative play and exploration.

Through fun-filled and engaging activities, this book introduces kids to the work of the contributing creative professionals who made it possible; artists, photographers, designers, educators, chefs, writers and comedians, all of whom are living affirmation that in order to be creative, all you have to do is See, Play, Do.

‘Firstly I am a mum, secondly I am a designer and crafter who has a strong interest in childhood creativity. I believe in the creative power of a child's mind and within this book of activities the aim is to move children’s play away from devices and back to natural creative play, exploration and experimentation with no prescribed end result, even if just for the duration of the book.

I also wanted to showcase the work of practicing creatives, as a child I had no real understanding of what they actually did. The list of creatives now includes artists, photographers, a children's book illustrator, a tattoo artist, a designer, a radio show host, an educator, a chef, a gardener, a scientist and a few wonderful children. Each of these people have contributed a page within the book and they have been interviewed, so you can learn more about what they do in their jobs.’

About the author

Louise Cuckow has a Bachelor in Graphic Design. She has worked as an art director for an advertising agency and for magazines both here and in London. On her return to London, she had a short stint as a designer for an architects company, before starting her own business Sweatpea Home – one of the first small craft businesses in NZ. Louise’s work caught the eye of Karen Walker and she worked as her fabric designer before leaving to become a mum. As a freelancer Louise has also worked as an interiors stylist, created window displays and art directed a children's TV show. Today Louise continues to do freelance fabric design, for a variety of NZ fashion labels, along with design and photography work, while being a hands-on mum. She lives in Auckland with her husband and daughter.