Free coloring worksheets for kids are used in families and by educators.  Some people are greatly in favor of coloring pages for kids, while others are opposed. This article offers both sides as well as sources for free coloring pictures.

Pros and Cons of Coloring Worksheets

Coloring pictures exercises hand-eye coordination, encourages thinking about color, helps young children recognize objects. But coloring books and coloring worksheets are belittled by some, who believe that creating original art is more valuable. Coloring books have been criticized by some as not only a waste of time, but positively detrimental to independence and creativity.

But it is possible that both coloring someone else's drawing and drawing one's own pictures are both valuable. For example, RxArt has found value in art and gives out coloring books in hospitals for therapeutic purposes.

And it is easy to imagine that coloring well-drawn pictures could also help a child to:

• clearly see the parts of something
• see patterns that might not be obvious when seeing items in real life
• learn something about how an artist builds up a complex image from simpler shapes
• contribute to an artistic rendering of something that he or she is not capable of conveying with as much detail or accuracy due to stage of development or other factors.

It's also important to note that coloring does not have to be the limit of what a child does with a coloring worksheet. The worksheet could also contain a puzzle, a lesson on some topic, instructions for a project, etc.

Free Coloring Worksheet Sources

Free coloring worksheets are offered by publishing companies, educational websites, coloring and craft websites, companies that make coloring products, and others. Many other sites offer free coloring pages related to holidays and celebrations and safety.

Publishers

• Dover Publications offers free samples pages from its books on its website. This includes coloring pages, famous artwork, games and puzzles, and more.

Coloring and Craft Websites

• DLTK's Crafts for Kids and sister site Coloring.ws have a lot of free coloring pages, including fairytale, people, animals, alphabet, religious, and holiday pages.


• Educational Coloring Pages features Disney and other branded coloring pages, with illustrations appealing to both boys and girls.


• Free Printable Coloring Pages website has over 3000 coloring pages including animals, history, letters and numbers, food, sports, and flags.


Art Supply Companies

• Crayola® offers more than 1000 free coloring pages, with new additions each month. Categories include animals, vehicles, holidays, learning, Disney, and art projects.