Jumping Dolphin Colouring Page

This dolphin stands tall on the tip of its tail fin, body curving up and back the way dolphins do when they leap clear of the water. One flipper is thrown up and out to the side, almost like it is waving. The dorsal fin sits neatly on its back, and on the front of its body a second, smaller fin peeks through near the belly. Its face has one big round eye with a curved brow above it, and a closed, smiling beak. A long curved line runs down the middle of the body to mark the paler belly, and at the bottom, a few curling splash shapes show where the dolphin has just come up out of the water.

Most of this dolphin is made up of large, open spaces - the back, the belly panel, the raised flipper - so a child can get the crayon moving in big strokes without worrying about staying inside tight lines. The eye and the splash shapes are smaller and closed off, which gives slightly older hands something fiddlier to slow down for. It is a good page for talking about why dolphins jump, and for picking two or three colours rather than reaching for every one in the box, since the shapes are simple enough that a plain colour scheme still looks good.

Next to other ocean sheets in this set, this one sits on the easier side: the outline is clean, nothing is tiny, and there are no crosshatched patterns to fill in. It suits a child who is still building control over a crayon but wants a picture that looks finished quickly. An older preschooler who colours fast might want a second sheet ready, since this one will not take long.