Instructify

If you’re a computer lab teacher in primary, do you sometimes feel like a Kinko’s outlet with all the coloring books you print out? Do you feel guilty that all that paper you go through kills both trees and your school’s budget for toner cartridges? I’m not crazy about having students come into the lab and spend 10 minutes looking for the perfect picture from PBSKids to print. They also get frustrated — crayons are so low-fi in this age of online painting. Thanks to Kevin Jarrett at NCS- Tech, I have a list of sites to share with you that will let students do the coloring part online (you can decide if you want the kids printing their work).

The most educational seems to be Enchanted Learning’s Dinosaur Pages to Color. The pictures list the scientific name for each dinosaur, and has some text giving details about the animals. Since we don’t know the colors or textures of dino hide, your students can get really creative as they color these creatures.

Next up is Coloring.com, which as Kevin points out, has not just colors, but textures, and a really big selection.

Finally, Kendra’s Coloring Book, which doesn’t have textures, but will let you mix colors (sorta like a blendy pen?)

In the case of Enchanted Learning, the coloring could definitely be tied into a thematic unit on dinosaurs. The other two are suitable for student choice, or reward time. Enjoy these sites, and stay inside the lines! -ALICE MERCER

Enchanted Learning’s Dinosaur Pages to Color

Coloring.com

Kendra’s Coloring Book

Related stuff:

Paint your Masterpiece with ArtRage 2

Looking for Kid-Friendly Art? Try Haring Kids

Photo credit: Laffy4k on Flickr