Are you wondering how to teach colors to preschoolers? Because it truly is that crucial. Coloring keeps children occupied with a creative pastime, teaches them how to handle a writing implement correctly, and opens them to a world of knowledge. I prefer to incorporate coloring into our daily routine, especially during the summer.
Have a Specific Area for Coloring
It’s wonderful for youngsters to be able to complete an activity on their own, especially one as simple as coloring. Even though my eldest is enrolled in public school, we have a special “Homeschool Table” where the kids may go whenever they want to access baskets of coloring books, coloring sheets, blank books, blank paper, activity books, and various markers, crayons, and pencils. This is one of the ways I foster an atmosphere that promotes individual learning.
Purchase Some Quality Markers
Crayons are cheap and fun, but nothing colors quite like a marker. I’ve always had trouble with our younger children not putting the caps back on the markers or with small children obtaining them and using them to color anything other than the paper (such as the table, the wall, the restroom door, and of course their own bodies). However, I believe that this is a small price to pay for the happiness that markers provide. If you’re concerned that your kids may color on anything besides paper, you can buy some washable markers, which are simple to remove from any surface.
Simply purchase several inexpensive markers, such as these, and establish a “marker system” if you are concerned that they may misplace the caps. I accomplish this by keeping two marker boxes and one stockpile. I simply cut the flaps off of my Amazon boxes and attached labels to create my marker boxes. I put the new markers in the box marked “Good Markers” in which they are contained. I place all spare caps, lost caps, and markers that are beginning to write less clearly in a box with the title “Old Markers.” When I color with the kids and oversee their use, I keep a cache of fresh markers hidden somewhere in the box. But lately, because the larger kids have been so good about putting the caps back on, I’ve been keeping my excellent markers out in a great office supply organizer with a handle that provides for simple movement.
My daughter has recently become quite interested in coloring with my Sharpie markers, so I recently purchased her a 24-pack of colored Sharpie markers and some heavy paper to color on. She has been quite cautious with them, which has calmed my initial fears about what might happen to my house if I let loose with permanent markers. Now that my daughter has been enamored with coloring, she wants to color constantly!
Coloring Books
We have a ton of coloring books; they remain interesting and novel, and I strive to switch them around. On our homeschool table, I keep a fresh supply of coloring books that the kids are most interested in. I keep all of the coloring books accessible but out of the way on a bookshelf.
Here’s a blog about how we use some of our favorite coloring books. We offer printable and free coloring pages in various niches, from Disney Princess to Anime characters or something very familiar like transportation, flowers, and fruits, so feel free to download and print them for your kids to color as you like.
Watch Me Draw
Although I’ve never thought of myself as any kind of artist, I can replicate photographs and sketches very well. I try to replicate the angles and curves in my drawings by examining how the lines are produced in little sections at a time.
The kids love watching me draw things. They will typically ask me to color something that they really like, like monsters or My Little Ponies, and so I will look it up on Coloringbookforfree.com, download it, print it, and color it. As I color, they watch me with bated breath, making suggestions as I go along.
Things My Kids Like to Color
My kids are into different things at different times, and it’s always fun when a certain topic, genre, or set of characters sort of permeates their minds. I like to locate coloring sheets, books to read, movies to watch again, activities requiring imagination, and other things based on their hobbies. Here are a few of my children’s passions.
- Land Before Time (Did you know they made NINE movies in this series? We have purchased many many dinosaur toys that have been a part of numerous imagination games.)
- Dora (All three of our older kids still love watching Dora over and over. I think it’s a great show.)
- Superheroes (Superhero Squad to be exact.)
- Spiderman (We like watching the 1967 or 1980 versions on Netflix.)
- My Little Pony (Ruby loves the Friendship is Magic series. I always buy little ponies at garage sales and thrift stores and the kids spend hours playing imagination games with them.)
- Disney Princesses (My daughter loves finding princesses with really pretty dresses.)
- Monsters (My kids have been obsessed with monsters for as long as I can remember. I use them to make their Favorite Things books and ABC books. Look for more on these in a future post.)
- Mario Brothers (My kids plays these video games together, and they love the characters and the story.)
- Sharks (Do all boys like sharks or what?)
- Octopuses (or octopi)
- Minecraft (I absolutely love playing this game.)
- Angry Birds (Another my kids favorite.)
Great Resources for Printouts
Usually, I just do Google image searches to make printouts, but this is the site that pops up over and over again that have been great portals for finding more coloring sheets.
Coloring Tips and Tricks
Don’t Force Coloring in the Lines: When my daughter’s teacher mentioned working on coloring in the lines as one of her objectives at her first kindergarten meeting, I understood that this was the next logical step for her but I didn’t push her to do it. She has the kind of attitude that tries her hardest no matter what, so I didn’t want to stop her from coloring since she couldn’t color inside the lines. I now tell her that Elliot is doing his best and that scribbling is just what he is working on for the moment when she sees him “scribbling” and attempts to correct him.
First, Color the Edges. When I’m coloring, I pay close attention to all of the minor details that I do to ensure that my coloring is tidy. One of the things I do is meticulously color the edges first before focusing on the center. (On occasion, I’ll even use a marker for the edge and a crayon for the inside coloring.)
Use a Variety of Colors: While it’s acceptable for kids to draw anything with just one color, I prefer to encourage them to use a range of hues and teach them about the names of the colors as they go (magenta, midnight blue, aquamarine, lavender, etc.).
Be Creative: While it can be entertaining to color an image using the proper hues on occasion, more often than not, it is more enjoyable to use our own color combinations. I encourage my kids to draw or color whatever they can visualize.
Add more Details: I like to encourage my kids to annotate their photographs with extra information. I urge kids to create a backdrop for our prints, especially when we are coloring them. (What is the scene like? Where is this happening?)
Color What They’re Into: Whatever children are into, you can find a coloring page for their interest. Just type whatever they are into, from sharks and princesses to viruses and biology. If you add the words “coloring page” afterwards, you will find something.
Bins For Coloring Pages: I keep finished coloring pages in one spot, unfinished images in another, and printouts that the kids can quickly access when they want to color. I select the nicest ones and use them to adorn our “Homeschool Room” after the “Finished” container is filled.
In Conclusion
Coloring is a highly critical developmental milestone, despite the fact that it looks like a simple and unimportant children’s hobby. Children will flourish in this area if coloring is encouraged and if there are many opportunities for them to do it in ways that are enjoyable and interesting to them. They will be able to express their creativity, get ready to write, and keep engaged with something useful as a result. We can add significance to this priceless hobby and help kids view it as more than simply something to occupy them for a short period of time by placing a value on coloring and the objects kids color.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings