Christmas color by number in the classroom: ideas for kindergarten and first grade

December in a kindergarten or first-grade room is loud, short on time and full of interruptions. Color-by-number pages are one of the few activities that are calm, independent and still practice real skills: reading numbers, matching color words and careful fine-motor work.

What makes a page right for little kids

• •Big, simple shapes, so small hands can stay inside the lines
• •Few colors — six at most — so the key fits in their head
• •Everyday crayon colors, so nobody needs a special marker set
• •An answer key, so kids (or a helper) can check their own work

Ways to use them in December

• •Morning work: a page on each desk as kids arrive settles the room before the day starts.
• •Early finishers: keep a folder of pages they can grab without asking.
• •Party stations: one table of coloring gives a calm option between games and crafts.
• •Sub plans: they need no teaching, so they're easy for a substitute to hand out.
• •Winter break packets: staple five pages into a booklet to send home.
• •Number practice: before coloring, have kids circle every 3, or count how many spaces are 5.

Make it work for every kid

• •For younger or struggling learners, color one space of each number together first so the key is clear.
• •Put a crayon of each color on the key itself, or color the key boxes in, so kids match colors as well as numbers.
• •For faster kids, add a challenge: draw a background, or write a sentence about the picture.
• •Pair kids up and let one read the numbers while the other colors, then switch.

Printing a class set

1. 1Open the PDF in a PDF reader, not a browser preview.
2. 2Print at Actual size on US Letter, or Fit to page on A4.
3. 3Print the coloring pages in black and white — they're designed for it, and it saves your color ink.
4. 4Print one copy of each answer key in color and keep them in sheet protectors at a checking station.
5. 5Set the number of copies to your class size and print just the pages you need for the week.

Using them with your class

A classroom purchase covers printing copies for your own students. Sharing the PDF with other teachers or posting it online isn't covered — each teacher needs their own copy.