A coloring page of two children eating nanakusa-gayu, the seven-herb rice porridge Japanese families eat on the morning of 7 January. The outlines are thick and the shapes are simple, so young children can manage it, and it also works as a gentle New Year page at home, in a classroom or in a care-home activity. Free to download and print as a PDF, no registration needed.
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
What’s your favorite color to use when coloring?
Do you enjoy drawing or coloring?
Did you used to draw or do handicrafts in the past?
Would you like to show someone your finished coloring page?
What is nanakusa-gayu, and what is happening in this picture?
Nanakusa-gayu is a rice porridge made with seven spring herbs: seri, nazuna, gogyo, hakobera, hotokenoza, suzuna and suzushiro. It is eaten on the morning of 7 January to settle the stomach after the rich New Year dishes and to ask for a healthy year, and Japanese supermarkets sell the seven herbs in a ready-made pack in the first week of January. Here two children are sharing a pot of it at the table. Leaving the porridge and the pot mostly white makes the food look hot, and the herbs are the one place for a fresh green.
Does coloring help prevent dementia or serve as brain training?
Coloring engages several skills at once: (1) the judgment involved in choosing colors, (2) fine motor control, and (3) focus and attention. Many people enjoy it as a relaxing pastime, and it is a popular recreational activity in care settings — though evidence on preventing dementia remains limited.
What tips make coloring easier for seniors?
It helps to start with designs that have thick outlines, large areas to fill, and simple patterns. Choose materials that are easy to handle — colored pencils, markers, or watercolors — and remember that enjoying the process matters more than getting it ‘right.’
