Waving Mermaid on a Rock Colouring Page

This mermaid sits on a large, smooth rock with her curled tail fin tucked beside her. She waves with one open hand, fingers spread wide, and holds a five-pointed starfish in the other. Her hair falls in long, loose waves past her shoulders, and she wears a simple shell top. Three round bubbles float near her, and a few soft scale-lines mark her waist and hip, but the tail itself is one big open shape all the way down to the split fin at the bottom.

Most of this page is made of the kind of shapes toddlers actually enjoy filling in: the tail, the rock and the hair are all big and closed, with nowhere for the crayon to slip out. The starfish and the three bubbles are small enough to ask for a bit more care with the crayon tip, and a child can give each one its own colour just to see it stand out against the tail. It is an easy picture to talk about while colouring: why is she waving, what colour should her tail be, is the rock wet or dry.

Because the rock and tail take up so much of the page, this sheet colours in quickly and rarely ends in a scribbled mess, which makes it a good pick for a younger or less patient colourer. Older preschoolers who like finishing detail still have enough to slow down for in the hair, shells and starfish. It sits on the easier end of the mermaid sheets in this set and suits children colouring mostly on their own.