New Ways to Use Simple Colouring Pages

Colouring pictures can be great for bible class but be sure not to “overuse” them.  Not many children (or adults) want to colour pictures with crayons week after week.  Here are a number of ways you can use a simple colouring picture in different and interesting ways.

• Change the Size: When copying the picture on the photocopy machine enlarge or shrink it for a change.
• Use Different Materials: Give each child the colouring picture to colour but provide something different to colour with:
  • Paints and paint brushes
  • Cotton buds and paint
  • Sponges and paint
  • Chalk dipped in water
  • Use their finger tip and dot the paint on
• Friendship Painting: Have the children paint or colour as partners.  Or they could colour two pictures and then swap.  Encourage them to ask their friends what colours they like.
• Half and Half: Print a colour sheet and then cut it in half.  Give one half to each child.  The child tapes their half onto a blank paper and then draws the missing half on their own.
• Touch and Feel Pictures: Provide glue so that children can glue items onto the picture instead of colour.  Don’t feel you have to cover the entire picture.  Children can just as easily glue something on one item in the picture.  This can be a good way to emphasise something from the story (for example just glue glitter on one character’s clothing).  Try rice, seeds, pasta, cotton, glitter, fabric, felt, popcorn, paper scraps of various colours, etc.
• Overhead Projector: Copy the page onto clear overhead transparency paper and project it onto a screen or the wall.
  • Children can use coloured transparency pens to colour the picture on the projector.  Everyone can see their results as they work.
  • Project the picture onto a whiteboard or chalkboard and let children trace and colour the picture.
  • Project the picture onto a large piece of paper that you have attached to a wall.  They can trace and colour the picture.
  • Copy any picture (black and white or coloured) onto transparency and use it as a visual.  Before class cover the transparency picture with post-its or taped bits of paper.  As you tell the story remove one bit of paper at a time from the transparency.  This keeps the kids guessing.  Another nice thing about this one is that you can write notes on the post-its so you can remember what to say.
  • Use the same idea as above but write questions on the post-its.  As children correctly answer a question remove that post-it.  Children try to guess what the picture is as post-its are removed.
• Make a Book: Copy a number of different pictures so children can put them together into a book that tells the story.  They could colour this in class, in worship or at home.
• Make a Puzzle:
  • After the children colour the picture cut it apart so they can have their own puzzle.
  • The teacher can colour the picture before class and then cut it into puzzle pieces.  As the story is told add the pieces to the puzzle so that the picture is revealed piece by piece.
  • Hide the pieces around the room before class and let the children find the pieces and put them together.
• Bulletin Board: Use the coloured pictures to decorate a bulletin board.
• Everyone Colour a Part: Enlarge an A4 size colouring picture to A3 size (or just enlarge to any size).  Cut that in half and enlarge each of those A4 size pages into A3 size.  Keep repeating this and you can enlarge one colouring picture as large as you like.  Children can each colour a part of the picture and it can be put together to decorate a wall.
• Group Picture Story: If you have a number of pictures of the same story each child can colour a different scene.  Put the pictures together for a flip chart to tell the story.
• Surprise pictures:
  • Print and colour the picture before class.  Place post-it notes over parts of the picture.  Uncover one at a time as you tell the story.  If you don’t have post-it notes use tape or blue-tac.
  • Copy a few pictures and then glue or tape “flaps” over them.  Write a question on the flap.  Ask a question relating to the picture.  Once the child answers the question let him or her open the flap to see if they guessed correctly what the picture was.
• Art exhibition: Use various methods to colour pictures from the stories you study each week.  Collect the pictures each week.  Send out invitations and then have a time when parents or others can come and view the pictures.  The children can be the guides to explain the pictures to the guests.
• Post in the Mail: If a child is absent post a colouring page to them.  All the other children can write a note on the back.
• Guest Participation:  Invite a guest parent or member of the congregation to come and colour together with the children.  You might be surprised how many adults (and teens) enjoy colouring.  It is an easy way for different age groups to interact.
• Digital Painting:  If you are familiar with computers and have only a small class you can scan the picture and then choose one of a variety of “paint” programs.  Children could take turns adding colour to a picture.  This one takes planning, fore-thought and a laptop or tablet.

Here are some links that I like using to find colouring pages for Bible Stories.  Each of these is a fairly comprehensive collection and I like the way they are organised so that it is easy to find what you are looking for.

Old Testament

• bible-printables.com- Old Testament
• Old Testament (English and Spanish)- http://calvarycurriculum.org/ot-genesis-exodus/

New Testament

• bible-printables.com- New Testament
• New Testament (English and Spanish)- http://calvarycurriculum.org/nt-matthew-john/

Bible and Topics

• A good selection from Old and New Testaments and a few topics at http://www.coloring.ws/christian.htm