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Looking for an easy activity for your preschooler to do for dad this Father’s Day? Print out this 5×7″ foldable Father’s Day coloring card for preschoolers to color in.
While this coloring activity looks like just a fun activity for kids to do for dad, it offers many benefits for preschooler.
BENEFITS OF COLORING FOR PRESCHOOLERS
1. Helps develop hand strength- Preschoolers are just beginning to build their muscles so coloring will help them strengthen their hand strength. Hand strength is important for so many activities, especially handwriting. It will also help them with develop proper pencil grip.
2. Encourages creativity- Coloring offers kids creativity. Even if you give 10 kids the same exact coloring pages, each one will look different in the end. One child can color the sun purple, while another color it yellow. Some might color everything in black. Another child might want to draw something new and color that in. Coloring let the kid be control of what their art look like.
3. Helps with early writing skills – Eye-hand coordination and pencil grip are important aspect of handwriting. With coloring, a preschooler practice control of the crayon (how much pressure is exerted on the crayon to make darker color or lighter color), the speed, and the direction. Not only does coloring prepare preschooler for writing, but also use of other utensils, such as scissors, grooming and hygiene tools,
4. Promote patience and focus – Coloring for preschooler as well as for older kids and adults is a great activity to slow down and focus on one task. It takes patience to color within the line and focus to bring the final result from the child’s mind onto paper.
5. Language development – Coloring and discussing their final result helps the child use descriptive words to describe and rationalize why they choose a particular color. When you look at your child’s finish art piece instead of saying how nice it is, say, ” I see you color this in purple, why did you pick that color?” Or you can simply say, “Can you tell me a little bit about your art?” and see what your child says. It might surprise you at to why they do things.
6. Self expression- Drawing and coloring is a form of self expression. This is their way of expressing how they feel when they can’t find the right words. My friend’s kid was sad when she sees all the animals at the shelter not getting adopted so she drew a picture and color it in. This helped her mom to see how she’s been feeling and thus leads to discussion on feelings, animal adoption, etc.
7. Color recognition – Coloring helps them understand what primary colors are and explore color combinations.
8. Bilateral Coordination – Coloring promotes the use of both hands, which is a very necessary skill for writing, cutting, and daily activities. When coloring, a child hold the paper with one hand while the other hand colors.
This Father’s Day coloring card is 5×7″ when folded. I’ve also include the same design in 8.5×11″ size in PDF and PNG files. You can digitally color the PNG files in Procreate.
Supplies and Instructions
Creating the card is fairly simple.
1. Print it out on cardstock either at home or at a printing shop.
2. Cut out the card with a paper trimmer or scissors.
3. Fold it half.
4. Have your child color it in using crayons, color pencils, or markers.
5. Write inside card.
6. Give to dad!
7. If you want to put it inside an envelope, I recommend these. You can also make your own envelope.
More Father’s Day Coloring Cards
