• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
Embracing Motherhood
  • Teachers Pay Teachers
  • YouTube
  • Blogs
  • Merch
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Posts

Tips and Tricks for Coloring with Kids

Art Activities, General, Teaching
Yes, This is Really a Post About Coloring Embracing Motherhood

Why would I write a post about coloring? Because it’s really that important. Coloring keeps kids engaged in a creative activity, it helps them learn how to properly hold a writing utensil, and it is a gateway to learning about so much more. Especially during the summer, I like to make coloring part of our daily routine.

Have a Designated Place for Coloring

It’s so great for kids to be able to do an activity, especially something as basic as coloring, without needing your help. Even though my oldest is in public school, we have a designated “Homeschool Table” full of baskets of coloring books, coloring sheets, blank books, blank paper, activity books, and all kinds of markers, crayons, pencils, and more that the kids can get to on their own whenever they feel like it. This is part of how I create an environment that encourages independent learning.

Homeschool Table and Computer Station

Homeschool Table and Computer Station

Invest in Some Good Markers

Crayons are cheap and fun, but nothing colors quite like a marker. With our younger ones, I’ve always struggled with them not putting the caps back on the markers or little ones getting ahold of them and coloring things other than the paper (like the table, the wall, the bathroom door, and of course their bodies). But I feel like this is a fine price to pay for the joy that markers bring. If you’re worried about your children coloring on things (other than the paper), you can get some washable markers and they will easily wash off from anything.

If you’re worried about them losing the caps, just buy a bunch of cheap markers like these and create a “marker system”. I do this by having two boxes of markers and one marker stash. For my marker boxes, I just cut the flaps off from my Amazon boxes and put labels on them. One box is labeled “Good Markers” and this is where I put new markers. Another box is labeled “Old Markers” and I put all extra caps, any markers that have lost their caps, and any markers that are starting to not write so well. Then I keep a stash of new markers in the package tucked away that I can use them when I color with the kids and supervise their use. Lately, however, I’ve been keeping my good markers out in a nice office supply organizer with a handle that makes for easy transport since the big kids have been so good about putting the caps back on.

Good Markers, Junky Markers, and a Marker Basket

Good Markers, Junky Markers, and a Marker Basket

I have a few Sharpie markers and Ruby has recently really loved coloring with them, so I bought her a 24 pack of colored Sharpie markers and some thick paper to color on. At first, I was really afraid of what would happen to my house and home when I unleashed permanent markers, but she and Elliot have been very careful with them. (I keep them well away from our 2 year old, Ophelia!) Ruby is obsessed with coloring now and wants to color all of the time!

Ruby Coloring with Sharpie Markers

Ruby Coloring with Sharpie Markers

Coloring Books

Coloring books are great, and even though I don’t ever recall buying any, we have a ton! (I think we get a lot as gifts!) I try to rotate them so they stay exciting and fresh. I have a bookshelf where I keep all of the coloring books accessible, but not within easy reach, and a fresh stash of coloring books that the kids are most interested in in baskets (actually, my baskets are being used elsewhere these days, so I’m just using repurposed Amazon boxes) on our homeschool table. (These are the baskets that I usually use, but these are cheaper and look pretty good too.)

Coloring Book Box

Coloring Book Box

Here’s a blog I wrote about how we use some of our favorite coloring books written by my own dear mother and sold through my parent’s product website Amazing Michigan, the Michigan product line from their fundraising company Great Lakes Promotions. (If your school needs a fundraiser, look them up, they’re amazing!)

amazing michigan coloring book

Amazing Michigan Coloring Book

Watch Me Draw

I’ve never ever considered myself an artist of any sort, but I am pretty good at looking pictures and drawings and copying them. What I do is look at the way the lines are formed in one small section at a time and do my best to get the same angles and curves on my drawing.

A Drawing of Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony

A Drawing of Pinkie Pie

The kids love, love, LOVE watching me draw things. They will typically ask me to draw something that they really like like monsters or My Little Ponies, and so I will look it up on Google images and do my best to copy it. As I draw, they watch me with baited breath making suggestions as I go along.

Drawing Outlines

Then there’s the few things that I enjoy drawing freehand like rainbows, flowers, t-rexes, brontasauruses, stick figures with word bubbles, and other really simple things. I like to draw these with a dark Sharpie marker and the kids enjoy coloring them in.

Ruby Coloring in My Outline Drawing of a Dinosaur

Ruby Coloring in My Outline Drawing

Kids Free Draw

It’s amazing to see Ruby’s progression with drawing. Only a year ago, she was scribbling pictures, and now she’s carefully free drawing intricate pictures.

Ruby's Drawings

Ruby’s Drawings

Elliot, who is four years old, has never really liked free drawing at all. Only recently has he been inspired by Ruby’s love of drawing to draw his own pictures. It’s really cute because he only likes to draw monsters and so he’ll kind of carefully scribble an exterior and then add a bunch of arms, or a beating heart, or lots of teeth and blood, and he’ll be so proud.

Elliot free drawing with sharpie markers

Elliot Free Drawing

Ophelia, who is two, loves drawing careful lines with multiple colors. But she will draw on everything in the house and throw all of the markers and caps on the floor when she’s done, so I have to supervise her!

Ophelia's Coloring Pages

Ophelia’s Coloring Pages

Printouts

Elliot’s absolute favorite thing in the whole world is to sit on my lap and do Google image searches for printouts. While I type in whatever they want to color, like “monsters” and then add the words “coloring pages”, the kids will point to the images they like. (Sometimes I have to say “free coloring pages” if a lot of paid subscription pictures come up.) Then I open up the image, right click on it and select “copy”, open a word document, right click, and select paste, make the image fit the page, and print. Lately, I’ve been printing our pictures on card stock since they are using Sharpie markers these days.

Elliot Loves His Monster Printouts

Elliot Loves His Monster Printouts

Things My Kids Like to Color

My kids are into different things at different times, and it’s always fun when a certain topic, genre, or set of characters sort of permeates their minds. I like to use their interests to find coloring pages, books to read, movies to watch over and over, imagination games to play, and more. Here are some of the obsessions my kids have had.

  • Land Before Time (Did you know they made NINE movies in this series? We have purchased many many dinosaur toys that have been a part of numerous imagination games.)
  • Dora (All three of our older kids still love watching Dora over and over. I think it’s a great show.)
  • Superheroes (Superhero Squad to be exact.)
  • Spiderman (We like watching the 1967 or 1980 versions on Netflix.)
  • My Little Pony (Ruby loves the Friendship is Magic series. I always buy little ponies at garage sales and thrift stores and the kids spend hours playing imagination games with them.)
  • Princesses (Ruby loves finding princesses with really pretty dresses.)
  • Monsters (Elliot has been obsessed with monsters for as long as I can remember. I use them to make his Favorite Things books and ABC books. Look for more on these in a future post.)
  • Mario Brothers (My husband plays these video games with the kids, and they love the characters and the story.)
  • Sharks (Do all boys like sharks or what?)
  • Octopuses (or octopi)
  • Minecraft (Elliot absolutely loves playing this game.)
  • Angry Birds (Another Elliot favorite.)

Great Resources for Printouts

Usually, I just do Google image searches to make printouts, but these are the sites that pop up over and over again that have been great portals for finding more coloring sheets.

  • The Color – You can color these online or you can print out the pages and color them. We love the interesting pictures and simple drawings.
  • Hello Kids – These drawings have more intricate details and require more precision to color, but they are very interesting.
  • AZ Coloring Pages – This page has all of the favorites like My Little Pony, Batman, Hello Kitty, holidays, animals, and more.
  • Coloring Book – This seems like the most comprehensive collection of character coloring pages. I love how they are organized by pictures of the characters.

Coloring Tips and Tricks

  • Don’t Force Coloring in the Lines: At Ruby’s first kindergarten conference, the teacher told us that one of her goals was to work on coloring in the lines, and while I knew that this was the next natural progression for her, I didn’t pressure her to do it. She is the type of personality that always does her best, and I didn’t want to discourage her from coloring just because she couldn’t stay within the lines. Now, when she sees Elliot “scribbling” and tries to chide him for it, I remind her that he’s doing his best and scribbling is just what he is working on for now. 🙂
  • Color the Edges First: When I’m coloring, I really think about all of the little things that I do that help me to color neatly. One of the things I do is color the edges carefully at first before delving into the middle. (Sometimes I even like to do my edging with marker and color the inside with crayon.)
  • Use a Variety of Colors: While it’s perfectly fine for children to scribble a picture using only one color, I like to encourage them to use a variety of colors and talk to them about the color names in the process (magenta, midnight blue, aquamarine, lavender, etc.).
  • Be Creative: Sometimes it’s fun to color a picture with the exact colors that it should be, but more often than not, it’s more fun to be creative and use whatever colors we please. I tell my children to color what they see in their minds.
  • Add More Details: I also like to encourage my children to add more details to pictures. Especially when we’re coloring our printouts, I encourage them to add a background. (What’s the setting? Where is this taking place?)
  • Color What They’re Into: Whatever children are into, you can find a coloring page for their interest. Just type whatever they are into from sharks and princesses, to viruses and biology. If you add the words “coloring page” afterwards, you will find something.
  • Bins For Coloring Pages: I have a place to put printouts that the kids can easily grab when they want to color, a place for finished coloring pages, and a place for pictures that they are still working on. When the “Finished” bin is full, I take the best ones and decorate our “Homeschool Room” with them.
a bin with Coloring Pages Ready to Grab

Coloring Pages Ready to Grab

Finished Pictures on the Wall

Finished Pictures on the Wall

In Conclusion

While coloring seems like a basic and insignificant childhood activity, it is actually a very important developmental milestone. By encouraging children to color and giving them plenty of opportunities to do so in a way that is fun and exciting to them, children will thrive in this area. In doing so, it will help them to express their creativity, get prepared for writing, and stay busy doing something productive. By giving value to coloring and the things children color, we give meaning to this precious activity, and children will see it as something important instead of just something we use to keep them busy for a little while.

June 13, 2015/1 Comment/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/coloring1.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2015-06-13 11:25:462020-11-20 16:33:16Tips and Tricks for Coloring with Kids

How to Make a Silky Blanket

General, How To
How to Make a Silky Blanket

Growing up, I loved the special little blanket my mother sewed for me by hand, and I carried it everywhere until it wore away to shreds. When she made me a new one as an adult, I was thrilled beyond words and slept with it every night…until I had children of my own, one of whom laid claim over my silky blanket. I keep vowing to make myself another one, but with all of the blankets I’ve made for my children, I just haven’t had the time! Plus, I’m always cuddling one child or nursing another, so I always seem to have a silky at hand anyways.

Making a silky blanket is a simple process, and without hardly any sewing experience, I was able to throw my first one together. Now, over the years, my process has become much more refined, and even though my blankets aren’t riddled with mistakes (that children don’t notice anyways) like they used to be, I still can’t make the intricate patterns and designs that my mother does.

A Silky Blanket My Mom Made

A Silky Blanket My Mom Made

Yet, my simple blankets have pleased not only my children, but they have made great baby shower gifts for my closest friends and loved ones.

Four Finished Silkies

Four Finished Silkies

I think that having a good sewing machine like this, is a very good investment. Even though I’m not making clothes from scratch, I really appreciate being able to hem pants, sew holes, modify clothes that are too big, patch anything that needs it (including our tent once), and make blankets and any other sewing project I feel like tackling.

Kenmore Sewing Machine

Kenmore Sewing Machine

Why Should You Make a Silky Blanket?

  1. Why Silk? I personally have always LOVED silk! I remember stealing my mother’s slips just so that I could rub the silky fabric between my fingers, and to this day, I love running my hands through racks of silky clothes on hangers. I think that if you’re going to be holding a baby and nursing them all the time, you deserve to be in contact with your favorite kind of fabric. So if silk really isn’t your thing, feel free to swap it with something that is.
  2. Nursing: My favorite part of having a silky is to use it while nursing.
    • I love being able to cradle it under my baby’s head so that it doesn’t get all sweaty against my arm.
    • I love using it as a nursing shawl when I’m breastfeeding in public. (By the way, I’m all for “breastfeeding rights”, I just prefer my privacy when it comes to my boobies.)
    • I love using it to cover up his eyes to shield them from the light he drifts off to sleep.
    • I love wrapping his whole body in it to keep him warm and snug.

      Nursing Julian Wrapped in Silky Blanket

      Nursing Julian Wrapped in Silky Blanket

  3. Sense of Touch: Our sense of touch is a more important sense than we give it credit for. The emotional context of touch has a huge effect on the physical sensation, and so by linking the tactile contact we have with our children to a physical object that they can take and carry with them everywhere, it essentially magnifies our love!
  4. Sense of Smell: Smell can bring up memories almost instantaneously because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain’s limbic system, which controls memory and feeling. If you always carry your baby in his silky blanket, it will smell like you and provide an ongoing sense of security all the time.

    Julian Wrapped in His Silky Blanket and Sucking His Thumb

    Julian Soothing Himself Wrapped in His Silky

  5. For Years to Come: You’re not just making this blanket for your newborn, but for your toddler, young child, and beyond! My five year old still sleeps with her special silky every night. She also cuddles with it on the couch while reading or watching movies, takes it with her on long road trips, uses it to comfort her when she needs it, and of course brings it along on overnights at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Her Grandma Di actually made her favorite silky, and she loves knowing that.

Supplies Needed

  • Batting: You’ll want the 45″ x 60″ crib batting. I usually go with a heavier cotton batting like this for a winter baby and a lighter polyester batting like this for a summer baby. You can also find organic cotton batting like this.
  • Fabric: I usually go to the fabric store or Walmart and pick out the silkiest feeling fabrics they have. (I value the feel of the fabric over the color.) I typically get 1 ½ yards each of two main colors (for the front and back) and a ½ yard of a third color (for the edging).

    Silky Fabric Selection

    Silky Fabric Selection

  • Thread: I like to keep my eye out at thrift stores for thread to fill my sewing box, but when I’m at the fabric store getting my material, I’ll make sure I have thread to match the colors of my fabric.
  • Good Scissors: Cutting silky fabric is tough because it’s so slippery, so you’ll appreciate a good pair of sewing scissors like these.
  • Pins: Pinning the silky fabric is absolutely essential to getting straight (or somewhat straight) lines, so you’ll definitely want some pins. You’ll also appreciate a good pin holder like this.
  • Erasable Marker: This marvelous little invention allows you to draw on your sewing lines and then have them easily wash away. (Just a note: Children’s markers won’t wash away.)
  • Seam Ripper: You might not need one of these, but if you make a mistake, having one is absolutely essential!

    Elliot and Ruby Help Pick Out Fabric

    Elliot and Ruby Help Pick Out Fabric

Directions

  1. Prepare Materials: Before you begin, take stock of all your materials to make sure you have everything you need.
    Materials to Make Elliot's Bones Silky

    Materials to Make Elliot’s Bones Silky

    Materials to Make All of the Kids a Silky

    Materials to Make All of the Kids a Silky

    Make sure you have a nice, big, flat spot where you can spread out the fabric. (The floor is great, but the top of a bed works too and can be a little easier on your back.) If you have cats, get a spray bottle with water to keep them away. If you have kids, either enlist their help or get them busy doing something else.

  2. Lay Out the Fabric: Sometimes one side of the material looks better than the other. If so, make sure the best side is facing out when you spread out your first piece of fabric. Then, unfold the batting and put it on top of the first piece of fabric, and finally spread the second piece of fabric on top.

    Spreading Out the Fabric

    Spreading Out the Fabric

  3. Pin Together: After you smooth out the material as much as possible, you’ll need to pin it together.
    Pinning the Silky Fabric

    Pinning the Silky Fabric

    Start by making a horizontal line of pins spaced about 4-6 inches apart. Then, fold/roll the material to make about a 4-6 inch fold and pin another horizontal line. Continue doing this along the length of the entire blanket.

  4. Draw Lines: Fold the pinned blanket in half length-ways and draw a dashed line along the middle. Fold the edge of the blanket to the middle line and draw another dashed line. Repeat on the other side. Then, fold the blanket in half going in the other direction, and draw dashed lines in the middle and on either side of the middle. This will make sewing straight lines much easier!

    The Sewed Lines Will Look Like This

    The Sewed Lines Will Look Like This

  5. Sew the Lines: Start by sewing the middle lines. I usually like to match my thread to the fabric color, so I’ll load the top color in the top of the sewing machine and the bottom color in the bobbin.
    Sewing the Lines

    Sewing the Lines

    If you really want to avoid getting ripples and bumps as much as possible, you could start sewing in the middle of your middle line, but I don’t usually do this. I just sew from one side to the other, removing any pins that get in my way in the process. After you sew the middle lines, you can sew the rest of the dashed lines. When you’re done, you should have taken out all of the pins, but you can save some for a child to take out too. 🙂

    Elliot Helping Me Take Out the Pins

    Elliot Helping Me Take Out the Pins

  6. Trim: Even though you may be tempted to trim your fabric beforehand, don’t do it until now. The silky fabric moves around a lot, and it will get bunched up in ways you can’t predict. By saving the trimming until now, you give yourself a bit more leeway.
  7. Prepare the Edging: Cut the fabric you’ll be using for the edging into about 4 inch strips. I usually just eyeball this because it doesn’t need to be exact. Sew the strips together, and make sure it will be long enough to fit around all of the edges.
  8. Sew On the Edging: Take one of the corners and line it up with the edging. Sew as straight of a line as you can, and make sure that all four layers are going under the thread. When you get to the corners, leave about an extra ½ inch or so (you really don’t need much), lift up the needle, and start sewing the next edge.
  9. Sew the Other Side of the Edging: This is probably the trickiest part of the whole blanket, and the part that I’m still trying to perfect to this day. Basically, you want to fold the edging around to the other side, tuck the edge underneath, and sew so that your line goes over the line you made on the other side. I’ve tried ironing the folded under edge to make it easier, but I don’t really think it’s worth the effort. When you’re done, flip the blanket over and sew any spots you’ve missed. *The corners have given me the most trouble over the years, and I still don’t think I have the perfect method for doing them. Sometimes, I just skip them, sew the other side, and come back to them at the end. Basically, you want to keep sewing into the corner as far as you can, lift your needle, arrange the fabric so it all comes together, turn, lower the needle, and sew into the next side. If all else fails, just sew over it a bunch of times until you can’t see any batting or loose edges. 🙂
  10. Final Touches: If you have the option on your sewing machine, you might want to sew a little message on one of the edges. Then, clip any loose strings and give the blanket a good once over to fix any weird spots. Finally, wash the blanket to get rid of the markings and to make it super duper soft.

    Finished Silky

    Finished Silky

May 31, 2015/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/embracing-motherhood.com-91.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2015-05-31 09:30:552020-11-18 06:44:13How to Make a Silky Blanket

Michigan Coloring Books are Fun for Children of All Ages

Art Activities, General, Teaching
Michigan Coloring Books are Fun for Children of All Ages

My three children (ages 1, 4, and 5) love doing projects together, and coloring is one of their favorite things to do. These Michigan coloring books are the perfect way for them to be able to work on a shared project in a way that keeps everyone entertained.

Learning From Each Other

Ruby (5) loves to spend hours and hours doing quiet activities like coloring and reading. Elliot (4) would rather be moving, dancing, or playing video games, but he loves to watch his sister work. These two are as different as night and day, but they love the heck out of each other, and it is a true delight to watch them play together.

children coloring michigan coloring books

Elliot is Entranced by Ruby Coloring her Michigan Coloring Book

Working at Their Own Levels

After watching Ruby color for a bit, Elliot decides that he wants to give it a try. You can see that he is a total lefty! While Ruby enjoys coloring with detail and staying in the lines, Elliot likes to scribble with big lines using single colors. This is very developmentally appropriate for his age. Ruby was the same way when she was 4. Even though her kindergarten teacher made it a goal for her to “color in the lines” at the beginning of the year, I never pushed her to do it. I knew that she would do it when she had the dexterity and desire. I also knew that if she never learned how to color in the lines, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

children coloring Michigan coloring books together

Ruby, Elliot, and Ophelia Color the Michigan Coloring Books Together

You can see how Ophelia (21 months) loves watching her big brother and sister at work. I tried sitting her down in her own chair with her own coloring book, but she decided that she wanted to get up on the table and see what was going on for herself. She’s got her crayon in hand and “helps” Elliot color his picture by adding random marks on his page. She knows that her big sister will not appreciate her page being colored on, so she avoids it! Smart girl!

Great Michigan Coloring Books

I like using these Michigan coloring books because they have simple pictures that are easy to color and they also teach interesting and important information about Michigan. It makes it fun for me as an adult to color with them because I can learn something too!

child carefully coloring a Michigan coloring book

Ruby Coloring her Michigan Coloring Book

child coloring a Michigan coloring book

Elliot Coloring his Michigan Coloring Book

The book we are coloring in these pictures is the Maki Coloring Book from a local Michigan author, Diane Napierkowski (also my mother!), and local Michigan Fundraising Company, Great Lakes Promotions. There’s some great information in here about the Mackinac Bridge, and the kids love finding Maki the Mouse on every page. These would make a great teacher gift! Teachers and schools might also enjoy checking out their wholesale prices to get a copy for students in certain grade levels or for the whole school. Coloring is a great transition activity and with these books you can learn about Michigan at the same time.

They also have an Amazing Michigan Coloring Book that has 80 pages of high quality illustrations with state facts, notable Michiganders, and locator maps that would appeal to all ages.

In Conclusion

Coloring is a great way to do an activity with children of multiple ages that doesn’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time to prepare. All you need are some crayons, some interesting coloring books, and an imagination.

April 8, 2015/0 Comments/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/embracing-motherhood.com-16.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2015-04-08 14:05:502020-11-20 18:32:06Michigan Coloring Books are Fun for Children of All Ages

Search

Stacey Maaser

Stacey Maaser author of Embracing Motherhood

Author of Embracing Motherhood

Affiliate Links

I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Recent Posts

  • Teach Your Toddler How to Read
  • Teach Your Baby How to Read
  • We Use Our Trampoline Just About Every Day!
  • How to Start a Homeschool Routine During Covid-19
  • 26 Learning Centers for a Homeschool Preschool Environment
  • How to Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Muffins
  • #1-Oral Language Development Lays the Foundation for Reading
  • #2-How to Engage Your Baby or Young Child with Reading
  • #3-Learning How to Read Begins with the ABCs
  • #4-Memorizing Words (Before Sounding Them Out) Leads to Reading

Newsletter Signup

TEACHING    PARENTING    MOM TALK    HEALTH    RECIPES    DIY  

The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease. By accessing or using this website, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, Full Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Affiliate Disclosure, and Comment Policy. Content may not be reproduced in any form.

Terms of Service | Full Disclaimer | Affiliate Disclosure | Comment Policy | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Embracing Motherhood. All rights reserved. Site by CurlyHost.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
Scroll to top
 

Loading Comments...