Hi, I’m Dana Whitfield, and I spent nearly a decade teaching elementary school before starting this site.
Most of those years were spent in first, second, and third grade classrooms — exactly the age range where coloring pages become much more than something to keep kids busy. I used them for indoor recess, early finishers, quiet time after lunch, and as a simple way to reinforce whatever we were learning that week.
Over the years, I built up a personal collection of pages I’d drawn, adapted, and created specifically for my students. After stepping away from full-time classroom teaching, I started sharing some of those resources with other teachers and parents. That eventually became this site.
How the Coloring Pages Are Made
Everything here is created with an actual classroom or an actual living room in mind, rather than simply making a page that looks nice on a screen. The coloring pages are organized by age and theme, making it easier to find something that fits the child you’re working with. Many of them also include a short teacher’s note with ideas for how I used the page in my own classroom, or how a parent or teacher could adapt it for a different activity.
Why There Are School Guides
The school guides section grew out of the same experience. During my teaching years, I was constantly answering questions from newer teachers and parents about classroom routines, school supplies, grade-level expectations, activities, and ways to keep kids engaged. I realized a lot of those practical questions didn’t need complicated answers — sometimes people just needed advice from someone who had actually been in the classroom.
About the Parenting Tips
You’ll also find parenting tips throughout the site. They’re not meant to replace professional or clinical advice. They’re the practical, everyday ideas I’ve picked up from working with hundreds of elementary-age kids, talking with parents, and figuring out what tends to work when a child is tired, distracted, frustrated, or simply not interested in doing the activity you’ve planned.
My Goal With This Site
My goal here is the same goal I had in the classroom: make things a little easier for the adult trying to keep a child learning, creative, and engaged. Whether you’re a teacher looking for a quick classroom activity, a homeschooling parent planning the week’s lessons, or someone looking for something fun to do on a rainy afternoon, I want you to find something useful here without spending hours searching for it.
Everything on OriginalColoringPages.com is free to print and use, and I add new coloring pages and guides regularly based on the subjects, themes, and activities teachers and parents are looking for.
Get in Touch
If you’re a teacher and would like a coloring page created around a specific unit or topic, or you’ve spotted something on the site that needs fixing, feel free to reach out through the contact page. I still think like a teacher, so I genuinely appreciate hearing what people are using and what they need.
This site contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on the site. I only recommend products and supplies that I believe would be useful for teachers, parents, or children.