Smiling School Bus Coloring Page

This school bus has a face right on the front panel: two oval eyes, curved eyebrows, a small curly nose and a wide smile, sitting above two round headlights and a bumper strip. Along the side there are three rounded windows in a row, a folding door with its own window, and a curved roofline that sweeps from the windscreen right over the top. Underneath sit four wheels, each with a plain round hubcap, with one pair overlapping near the back like a set of double wheels.

What makes this one worth printing is the size of the shapes. The face, the roof, the body panel below the windows and the bumper strip are all big open areas a young child can fill in with a single color and not worry about staying inside fiddly lines. The three side windows and the four hubcaps are the only small enclosed spaces on the page, so there is just enough of a challenge to make slowing down and taking care feel worthwhile. It is also an easy one to talk about while coloring: which color is the bus, is it happy, how many windows can you count.

This sits on the easier end of the shelf. The line work is thick, the spaces are generous and there is no fine detail to fight with, so it suits toddlers and younger preschoolers who are still getting used to holding a crayon, as well as older children who just want something quick and satisfying to finish in one sitting.