With everyone at home, ArtCafe Photography has been working on a few small projects to help kids and families express their creativity. We recently did a week of photo scavenger hunts and have been putting together other activities. Since I miss photographing all those little and not so little people in the studio, I decided to photograph some furry, feathered, and reptile friends in and around the house.
I thought it would be fun to introduce you to these little creatures by turning them into coloring pages for kids (and adults). Whether this serves as a sort of at-home art class or is a science or biology lesson to learn about local animals, these coloring pages will help you and your children express creativity and combine the typical learning they do at school with real world examples from being at home and exploring nature.
Coloring Page #1
First are the backyard birds waiting for the rain to be over–take a look at the American Robin, Cardinal, and Blue Jays.
There are so many interesting facts about birds, such as:
- Birds have feathers, wings, lay eggs, and are warm-blooded.
- There are around 10,000 different species of birds worldwide.
- Birds have hollow bones that help them fly.
- Some bird species are intelligent enough to create and use tools.
- The smallest bird egg belongs to the hummingbird and is the size of a pea.
- The largest bird egg, from which the ostrich hatches, is the size of a cantaloupe.
Check out our bird coloring page and create a colorful Blue Jay photo of your own.
Coloring Page #2
Next, learn about squirrels with these fun and interactive coloring pages. We have provided the color photos for reference.
Here are some fun animal facts about squirrels, such as:
- Squirrels are rodents.
- There are around 280 different species of squirrels.
- Most squirrels are small and have big eyes and bushy tails.
- Their large eyes help them skillfully climb trees and avoid predators.
- Squirrels eat mostly nuts, fruits, and seeds.
- Squirrels are born blind.
Check out our squirrel coloring page and create a squirrel photo of your own.
Coloring Page #3
Then we have a special friend, Eddie the turtle! Eddie is an Eastern Painted Turtle and has been with us for almost 15 years.
Here are some fun turtle facts:
- Painted turtles are brightly marked.
- They grow to be between four and ten inches long.
- They live in ponds, lakes, marshes, and in slow-moving rivers that have soft, muddy bottoms. (Eddie lives in a tank and goes for walks every now and then.)
- They spend the majority of their time swimming and the rest of their time eating and basking in the sun.
- A group of turtles is called a ‘a bale of turtles’. (I had no idea!)
Check out our turtle coloring page and create a colorful turtle photo of your own.
Coloring Page #4
Since we recently celebrated national Adopt A Shelter Pet Day and we adopted our cat Celeste 2 years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about cats!
Here are some interesting cat facts:
- Cats are one of the most popular pets in the world.
- They spend a large amount of time licking their coats to keep them clean.
- Baby cats (kittens) can purr when they are only two days old.
- Cats have an amazing night vision and can see six times better than humans.
- Cats of all ages love to play and chase.
- They sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day.
Check out our cat coloring page and create a colorful kitty photo of your own.
Coloring Page #5
For our last day of animal facts and coloring pages, I chose a fox that I recently photographed in our backyard. Isn’t he cute?
Here are some interesting facts about foxes:
- Foxes live all over North America.
- They are the smallest member of the dog family.
- They also have many similarities with cats like vertical slit eyes, retractable claws, and hunting skills.
- Foxes are carnivores, which means they eat meat.
- They don’t live in a pack. Foxes live and hunt alone.
Check out our fox coloring page and create a beautiful fox photo of your own.
These coloring pages and animal facts or lessons are a creative way to combine photography and doing activities together as a family, as well as a great method for keeping children entertained and busy.
With everything that has been going on, I’m sure many of you are juggling work, childcare, schooling, and more. I hope these small daily activities can serve as a creative outlet and help you connect with each other, nature, and the world around us.
Download and work on our photo coloring pages, taken from observing the nature and creatures inside and outside our home. They are sized to fit perfectly on regular 8.5”x11” copy paper pages.
If you can’t download the coloring pages from our website or Facebook page, feel free to message me your email address and I’ll send it out that way. I’d love to see some finished pages!