Coloring Through the School Day: Educational Coloring Books
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Looking for some fun science activities for you kids? Or a way to make history come alive? Want to add some “active learning” into your educational day? Coloring books might be just the thing!! I have discovered some amazing coloring books that could stand alone as a unit study (or whole curriculum - depending on your goals). Check out the educational coloring books below.
Kumon Activity Books
Kumon World Geography
This book actually began our journey in coloring together. Though it isn’t technically a “coloring” book as much as an activity book…When my oldest was in kindergarten, I would help him color the countries within the continents since sometimes there were SO MANY. This wonderful little nugget also has STICKERS (an absolute favorite with my kids) as well as coloring throughout. We used it for a Kindergarten Geography unit over several months. When we finished my son was eager to get “the next book.”
They also have one for the U.S. & and Canada! Not to mention other subjects…like telling time, etc. But, now I’m digressing from the whole “coloring” theme in this article.
Dover Coloring Books
After recalling having some Dover coloring books back when I was a third grade teacher, I scored their website and was impressed with their selections of both history/social studies and science related coloring books. These are not just coloring books, btw. They are informative coloring books. So, needless to say I ordered a few…yeah, just a few (for now).
Note: I linked the Dover publishing website above - where you can see all they have to offer. But, you can also order them elsewhere, like Amazon (linked below).
If your kids love to color, and especially if they are resistant to reading (or listening) to science from a textbook, you might find these books worth checking out. History, Geography, Science, you name it - Dover probably has a coloring book about it.
Just FYI - unlike some educational resources, these don’t allow photocopying. So, if you have multiple kids, you will need to order a separate book for each one.
My First Book About Weather
This book would be a great resource to use along with your science curriculum - to provide review and a fun activity. However, I think it could easily be a weather textbook in and of itself (esp. for elementary grades). There is so much information crammed into the 46 coloring pages – diagrams, captions, explanations, etc. (Be aware there is another weather coloring book by Dover, called “All About the Weather.” It is NOT the same, and from the very limited preview pictures available on Amazon’s “Read Sample” it doesn’t look nearly as good. IMO)
There is no Table of Contents for this book, so I’ll summarize some of the topics below:
Earth’s Atmosphere
Winds & Breezes
Water Cycle & Ocean Currents
Seasons
Bad Weather phenomena (Tornados, Hurricanes, etc.)
and more!
There are 46 pages to color in this book, so the above is a brief overview of some of the major topics. Also, just FYI since it can be a hot topic, this book has a section on global warming.
Recommended for ages 8-12.
Around the World
I bought this to use as a follow-up to the Kumon World Geography we used in Kindergarten, but we never got around to using it. Oops! Now that my oldest is going into third and can read, I think this could be a great independent “workbook” style text for a solid reader.
The book includes 30 countries (published in 2005). What countries are included? If you click on “Read Sample” on the Amazon listing you can see the back inside cover which includes a colorful picture of all 30 countries’ flags.
Each coloring page has a map of the country, along with famous landmarks (including pictures), the flag, and a list of “Fast Facts.”
Recommended for ages 4-8.
Wonders of the World
I bought the “Wonders of the World” coloring book to use along with Story of the World: Ancient Times. We are actually back to studying ancient times this year, and I’m thinking about pulling this back out and letting my oldest finish it. And, I may purchase a few more for my younger kids.
This book includes not only imaginative drawings of the “original” seven wonders of the world, but also twenty other incredible “wonders” that the sixth century list-maker couldn’t have known about…like Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, or Machu Picchu. With 29 pages of coloring (some of the “wonders,” like Stonehenge, take up a whole spread), this book should provide hours of entertainment and learning. Each drawing also includes a short synopsis about the wonder.
Recommended for ages 8-10.
My First Book About Backyard Nature
If you want to teach a unit on ecology but don’t know where to start…check this one out! It includes 47 pages of exquisitely detailed drawings and diagrams. And with all of the fascinating captions on each page, you and your kids are bound to learn some new tidbits to enhance your nature studies. From one-celled animals, to worms, to birds and bears, you’ll learn new facts about animals while getting to color them and their habitats. This book also covers topics like mushrooms and insects, rocks and water.
Recommended for ages 8-11.
This one I haven’t actually purchased yet. But, as I was updating this article I decided to browse what else Dover has to offer. And, this looks like it would fit nicely with our science this coming year!! It has great reviews on Amazon. So, I’m thinking this may be going in my cart.
It appears to be a more “advanced” book than some of them - esp. compared to the “My First…” series. However, that just means this one would be effective to use with older students. One of the reviewers even mentioned that highschoolers would find this interesting.
Recommended ages 8-14.
Recently I began making my own coloring sheets to go along with our reading curriculum – All About Reading. I saw the idea mentioned in the AAR teacher’s book; and after failing to find pictures to color elsewhere, I opened up Canva.com and started creating my own coloring sheets. In this case, I simply used the words and phrases from the AAR fluency practice and typed them into the spots I made on the Canva pictures. (You can check out these coloring sheets on my Etsy store). This has been such a fun way for my son to practice his reading fluency phrases – without tears! And, since we color the pages together we move through the activity quickly while still accomplishing the main goal of prepping for his reading story.
In summary, I think I’m finding that coloring provides a way to relax and doesn’t feel as stressful as other types of learning - like flashcards, etc. However, in the process the students (and parents!) are learning something. I hope you and your children find ways to bring coloring into your school day as well!
