5 Creative Ways To Repurpose Coloring Books

Colouring books are the most used activity books at our home.  But once our kids have used them, do we need to throw them? Well,hold on..I will be showing you 5 super easy ways to upcycle them to create learning activities for your kids.

And as always, all these activities are HANDMADE, so just grab a simple pen,  white paper, some cardboard ( for story cards) and a scissor along with the Copy- Colour book that has been completed by the child.

1. Scissor Cutting Practice

• Take one sheet of the book and remove the “Kid coloured” part of the sheet. What remains is the Printed Picture that was the reference for the child to colour.
• Ask the child to use scissor to cut that picture precisely to carve out the picture.
• This is for fine motor skills practice that enhances focus and precision.
• Because it would be a beautiful picture, the child shows much more attention to cut it accurately. For example, the child in the image below “wants her Santa to be safe and is super focused to not hurt him with the scissor”.

2. DIY Story Cards / Story props

• Story Cards are the random pictures given to the child as prompts, to encourage the child to build a story from his imagination. Similarly, the adults can use them as props for storytelling.
• Once the child has cut out the picture, stick it on a thick sheet/card board (use empty boxes of cereals etc.) and cutout the picture. This will make the cards sturdy enough to be held by kids for a long term usage.
• These cards can be used for rhymes, stories and wherever the imagination of child takes it.

3. Creating Simple Phonics Activities

• These pictures can be used for creating number of Phonics focused activities for kids. You can create DIY workbooks, DIY games as per the requirement (beginning sounds, end sounds etc.)
• The image shows a simple game where the child needs to match the beginning sound to the object.
• For toddlers, these cards can be used for sorting vegetables, fruits, vehicles etc.

4. Writing and Spelling practice Activity

• When your child is in initial writing phase and writing work books are overwhelming for the child, you can create simple writing prompts/pages using these pictures.
• In the image below, the picture has been pasted on a notebook and spelling has been written already. The child needs to write the same alphabets in the boxes drawn below.
• It encourages the child to write rather than pressurizing him to complete the full black and white sheet with alphabets.

5. DIY Greeting cards/Letters

• Handmade cards are a pleasure and treasure for the one who makes and who receives it.
• After child has carved out these colorful pictures, ask them to stick on a folded paper (to make a greeting card) and cut out the extra part of sheet.
• Write a beautiful message inside for your loved one.
• And the child has created a HANDMADE greeting card for his loved one. What else can be more satisfying and confidence boosting to a child.

Getting printouts for creating educational activities for a child is always an option. But please remember, Paper is precious. Before discarding any kind of paper, kindly evaluate if we can use it in any other way and inculcate the same habit in our kids. So, lets’s go and upcycle the colouring books and get the child involved in creating more beautiful stuff from them. Happy parenting everyone!!

Disclaimer: All photographs in this article are original and belong to the author. Reproducing them in any form without the permission of the author will not be allowed.

Also read: D-I-Y Activity Alert! Colourful Butterflies

Explore the entire collection of articles: Early Learning & Brain Development

3 Perfect Mess-free Art and Craft Activities for Your Messy Toddler

#toddlerlearning #toddlerfun