Articles in "Screen-Free Activities"

A clean black and white line art coloring page drawing of a chameleon perched on a curling branch, its body and long spiral tail bursting into vivid shifting bands of color, green flowing into turquoi

Chameleon coloring pages you can't color wrong

The one animal where a wild color choice is accurate. See what each chameleon color really means, then print a few and try it.

4 min read

A clean black-and-white line art coloring page of a friendly jack-o-lantern next to a sitting black cat on a porch, only the candle glow inside the pumpkin colored in warm orange, everything else unco

Halloween coloring pages, and the real story behind the spooky stuff

Color a jack-o-lantern, ghost, or black cat, then find out where each Halloween tradition actually came from, all the way back to an old Irish autumn.

4 min read

A cozy blanket-and-cushion fort by a large rain-streaked window, warm string lights, a child's coloring pages and crayons and colored pencils spread on a soft rug inside, a mug of cocoa, golden aftern

What to do with kids on a rainy day, before the tablet comes out

The tablet is the easy answer on a wet afternoon. Here is a calmer one: low-prep, screen-free activities matched to your kid's age and mood.

6 min read

A partially colored dog coloring page resting on a warm wooden kitchen floor, a soft out-of-focus real puppy nosing the edge of the paper, scattered crayons nearby, cozy morning light, cinematic story

Dog coloring pages sorted by the one you already know

Dog coloring pages sorted by silhouette, so a kid can find the one that looks like a dog they actually know.

3 min read

A painterly storybook illustration of a great horned owl perched on an oak branch at dusk, warm autumn light with soft golden and deep blue tones, large expressive amber eyes, cozy and atmospheric woo

Owl coloring pages where the eyes do all the work

Get an owl's two big eyes right and the whole bird has a personality. Printable owl pages from cute faces to great horned owls and moonlit branches.

4 min read

A child's hands holding up a freshly printed black-and-white line-art coloring page of a friendly animal, a home printer softly out of focus behind, bright cheerful room, warm natural light, horizonta

How to print coloring pages at home so they come out right

Most printing problems trace back to three settings. Here is how to get a clean, full-size coloring page at home every time, without wasting ink.

4 min read

A clean black and white line art coloring page of an apple tree heavy with fruit, all apples drawn in plain outline except three apples fully colored in glowing ripe red, warm and inviting, thick clea

Apple coloring pages that follow an orchard day from tree to pie

A set of apple coloring pages laid out as one orchard afternoon, from the first tree you pick to the pie that cools on the windowsill that night.

3 min read

A clean black and white line art coloring page of one large maple leaf with five pointed lobes and detailed veins, a few lobes filled with warm autumn color fading from green at the base to gold then

Fall leaf coloring pages where no color is wrong

Print maple, oak, and ginkgo leaves, then color them any shade you like. The gold and scarlet were hiding in the green all along.

4 min read

A clean black-and-white line art coloring page of a pumpkin patch at dusk, rows of round pumpkins on curling vines with wide leaves, one single pumpkin in the center glowing warm orange as if lit from

Pumpkin coloring pages for a slow afternoon at the patch

One afternoon at the pumpkin patch, from the hayride to the windowsill, with a page to color at every stop.

3 min read

A whimsical line-art coloring-page drawing on white paper of a slender branch holding maple, oak and ginkgo leaves, where several leaves are lifting off the page and drifting downward, turning fully c

Fall leaves coloring pages, and the color that was hiding all summer

The yellow was in the leaf all summer, hidden under the green. Print maple, oak and ginkgo pages and reveal the color yourself.

4 min read

Clean black and white line art drawing of the planet Saturn with detailed tilted rings, in the style of a coloring page, where only the rings burst into glowing golden and amber color while the planet

Color each planet the color it really is

Meet the eight planets one page at a time, and color each world the shade it really wears.

4 min read

A clean black and white line art coloring page style drawing of a grandmother and a small grandchild sitting side by side, with only a single heart between them colored in warm red, everything else pu

Grandparents Day coloring pages made to keep

A portrait of grandma, a heart for grandpa, a page small enough to mail. Print, color, and give something they will actually keep.

3 min read