Beyond Basic Coloring Page Activities
Use Sand Art, Dot Art, Collage and Texture to Extend Simple Coloring
Aug 21, 2008
Coloring teaches basic skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, attention to details and basic art skills. But instead of handing your child a coloring page and just a box of crayons why not extend the learning with these ideas sent in by Jenn, a Kids Craft reader.
Sand Art
Print a coloring page on cardstock and then use sand art to decorate it. First you may want to outline your picture in black sand. To do this just take your bottle of glue and run a line of it on the boarder and sprinkle the sand on. Using one color at a time smooth some glue onto a section of your picture and then add the sand. If you want to store it in a notebook you may want to slid it in a page protector or put some contact paper over it. Printing coloring pages onto card stock is much cheaper than sand art kits you buy at a store. You can also make your own colored sand.
Do-A-Dot Art (Bingo Blotter)
Print the coloring page on card stock and then use the bingo blotters to blot out dots, dabs and designs.This idea came about from seeing the bingo blotters available at retail stores. This is a great activity to increase hand - eye coordination in young children and they love making dots with bingo markers.
Collage Art
Print the picture on regular printer paper then color the picture. Cut the picture out and clue it to a sheet of construction paper. Make other back ground pieces such as a tree or sun to add to the construction paper. You could use extra coloring sheets or construction paper for the back ground pieces.
Texture Art
You can do a lot by adding texture to any coloring page. It also gives it a 3D look. For example,if your coloring page is a lion you could add a colorful yarn mane. If you have a coloring page that is a bird in a nest you could add Spanish moss to the nest. Aluminum foil is perfect for mirrors, belt bucks on armor. Fabric can be glued on for clothes. Preschoolers especially love this type of craft.
These activities are just a few of the many things you can do simply by starting with a coloring page. Keeping supplies on hand such as card stock, bingo markers, crayons and other craft supplies will encourage your child to be creative. It also helps parents keep kids busy on rainy days and "I'm bored" days.
