Centers are a staple of preschool classrooms. A coloring and tracing center gives children a calm place to build fine motor skills, practice colors and explore themes.
Supplies
- Crayons, including short ones
- Washable markers
- Chunky colored pencils
- Pencils for tracing
- Coloring pages and tracing books
- A tray for finished work
Organization
- Labeled bins with pictures for pre-readers
- A limited number of seats, often four
- A visual reminder of center rules
Themed rotation
Match the center to the class theme:
- Farm week: baby animals from Trace Then Color: Baby Animals
- Dinosaur week: Trace Then Color: Cartoon Dinosaurs
- Letter of the week: Trace Then Color: Alphabet Monsters
Skill-building activities
- Tracing dotted outlines. See how to teach tracing.
- Color sorting.
- Counting parts of characters.
- Patterns.
Supporting every learner
- Offer different tools for different grips.
- Have simple and more detailed pages.
- Pair kids for support.
Teacher check-ins
Visit the center to talk, model and observe. See what teachers learn by watching kids color.
Questions teachers ask
How long should children spend at the coloring center?
10 to 20 minutes per rotation is typical.
Should children be allowed to take work home?
Many teachers send work home weekly. See sending coloring home.
What if a child never chooses the coloring center?
Offer it with a theme they love, or bring coloring into other centers.
About Kevin Coulston
Kevin Coulston is a cartoonist and member of the National Cartoonists Society who has written and illustrated more than 100 drawing, tracing and coloring books for kids, including the Trace Then Color series. Meet Kevin or browse all his books on FirstArtBooks.com.
