Coloring is an activity you associate with childhood. While freely applying colors to a piece of paper, a child learns the differences in shades of colors and develops more precise motor skills. Help kids learn some coloring skills and other development with coloring games. Get involved with the kids and reminisce about your own childhood.
Academic
You can use coloring games in preschools, day cares, nursery schools and other school environments. These games encourage coloring through large-scale activities to teach children the differences between colors and how to note them in the world around them. For instance, you can pull out a roll of parchment or butcher paper that spans the middle of the room. Draw a rainbow, with a black marker, then give each child a set of coloring materials. Ask them to fill in the areas of their rainbow with the correct color. They can then work together to match objects from around the room to the correct color on the rainbow.
Active
Coloring games don’t necessarily need to be quiet time activities. Take the coloring games outdoors or in a large area for some active fun. These games use coloring to set up the game board. Draw a hopscotch board on a sidewalk or driveway or on a large roll of paper on the ground of your classroom or home. Instead of writing a number in the middle of each square, have kids draw a picture and fill in their specific area.
Competitions
One way to make coloring more competitive is to create some kind of contest. You may give each child a specific picture to color in or ask them to draw something freehand and color it thoroughly. You can give an award to the one whose picture is best decorated and whose colors are within the lines. However, if you want to give everyone an accolade, you may choose to give more creative awards, such as the one with the most red or the best use of the rainbow.
Prizes
If you are handing out awards, coloring books, coloring materials and coloring sheets will all be well-received. If you are teaching about coloring, give out prisms or other rainbow-making tools.
Supplies
Coloring materials may depend on the ages of your kids. Crayons are one of the most popular, as they are inexpensive and readily available. If you are taking your games on the road, choose colored pencils to avoid melted crayons. Markers are generally a mess for all ages. Chalk is best for outdoor coloring.
Photo Credit
- Coloring pens isolated image by TekinT from Fotolia.com
