Coloring as a Family: Tips and Tricks

A young girl coloring with her father

Coloring as a Family: Tips and Tricks

As the recent popularity of adult coloring books has shown, crayons aren’t just for children, and artistic expression is for everyone. Coloring is a great way to bring the family together for a meaningful creative experience.

Try setting aside time to enjoy art together each week. You can use an adult coloring book or free draw while your child explores coloring and drawing with crayons on their own. You may also decide to create a drawing and color it in together. Be sure to discuss the artistic choices that each of you make.

Designate an area in your home — the refrigerator, a blank wall, door, etc. — as your family’s “art gallery.” When you’re finished with your crayon creations, put each family member’s artwork on display.

Crayon Tips and Tricks

There are no right or wrong ways to create unique works of art. But here are a few tips and tricks for you and your little ones to try:

  • Strive for quality: Use name brand crayons and other craft supplies when drawing or coloring, if possible. High-quality crayons flow like butter, while lower-quality crayons leave wax buildup.
  • Practice shading: Shading can add another dimension to your coloring experience. The harder you press, the darker the color will be. To transition to a lighter shade, slowly adjust your hand pressure to a lighter touch. This is a fine motor skill that can be taught, reinforced and practiced with young children.
  • Experiment with color blending: Picture a beautiful sunset with shades of orange, pink and blue. Using light, steady pressure, begin coloring your sky. In areas where the pink and orange meet, blend the two colors into each other and let each color fade into the other. Ask your child questions about the colors seen and point their attention to the blending. This can be a naturalistic way to introduce math talk as well, e.g red crayon plus blue crayon makes purple marks.
  • Combine/substitute colors: Try coloring orange over pink, creating a pinkish orange color. Or substitute colors if needed; for example, if you run out of green, you can color layers of yellow and blue on top of each other until you get the shade of green that you want.

Ready, Set, Color!

Grab a box of crayons and download this coloring sheet of the Primrose Friends at school (or right-click to save and print). Happy coloring!

Looking for more creative projects? Check out:

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