Rain outside, kids inside, energy everywhere. Coloring is a rainy-day classic for good reason. Here are ways to make it feel special rather than "just coloring again."
Build a coloring fort
Throw a blanket over a table, add pillows and a flashlight and bring in the coloring kit. Coloring in a fort feels like an adventure.
Hold a coloring marathon
Pick a book and see how many pages the family can color together in an afternoon. Keep a tally on the wall.
Rainy-day pages
- Color the weather. Draw rain, clouds and puddles around characters.
- Underwater world. Rain everywhere? Pretend the house is underwater and color sea creatures. Trace Then Color: Fish, Sea Creatures and More.
- Umbrella parade. Draw umbrellas over colored characters.
Coloring games
See coloring games for family night for relay, roll-a-color and more.
Coloring café
Set up a pretend café. Kids color menus and food characters, then "serve" snacks. Silly food characters from Trace Then Color: Cartoon Food Monsters are perfect for menus.
Puppet show
Color characters, cut them out, tape to sticks and put on a puppet show behind the couch.
Window art
Color characters and tape them to windows facing out for neighbors to see.
Mix in movement
Kids need to move on rainy days. Alternate coloring with dance breaks, indoor obstacle courses or yoga.
Questions parents ask
How do I keep coloring from getting boring?
Novelty: forts, games, new supplies and themes.
What if my kids are too wild to color?
Get the wiggles out first with movement, then color.
Any ideas for very long rainy weeks?
Rotate activities, visit the library and try a new coloring book or new supplies.
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.
