Coloring sheets provide an activity for little fingers that helps increase fine motor skills and dexterity. Help children strengthen those muscles in the hand and wrist that are so important for writing and cutting by offering coloring pages like mazes and connect the dots. These types of coloring activities require the child uses very careful control of their hand to stay in the maze lines and to connect the dots. Mazes and connect the dot pictures are colored in once the activity is finished. Break crayons into one to two inch pieces to encourage your child to use a pincher grasp instead of a fist to color the picture. Children who color from an early age will often begin by scribbling, but will color in the lines at an earlier age with opportunities to practice. Coloring sheets designed to strengthen fine motor skills are found at Education.com.
Energetic children will sit for extended periods of time when they are coloring a motivating picture. Print out pictures from free coloring page sites on the internet or buy your child a themed coloring book of their favorite television character. If markers motivate your child, get them some special markers that color change or come in fun shapes or smells.
Many coloring sheets and coloring books offer children the opportunity to learn valuable academic skills. Children will begin coloring by just randomly choosing a color, but will eventually color items the color they are supposed to be and learn colors in the process. They will learn vocabulary skills as they describe the pictures they color. Some coloring sheets offer activities that strengthen counting skills by coloring in numbers that match the number of items on the page. Connect the dot sheets will teach children how to sequence numbers as they make the picture. Free printable coloring pages are available at Educationalcoloringpages.com.