So, Hispanic Heritage Month was rolling around, and I thought, “What can I do with the kids? Something easy, something that, you know, teaches them a bit.” Coloring pages, right? Seemed like a no-brainer.
I hopped onto my computer, like you do. Typed in “hispanic heritage month coloring pages.” And wow, a whole bunch of stuff popped up. Some sites wanted you to sign up for newsletters, others were straight-up free. I was aiming for free, obviously.
First, I just clicked around. Some pages looked great, real detailed. Others were, well, a bit basic. Just a flag or something. I wanted more variety. I was thinking, “Okay, what am I actually looking for here?” I figured I needed a mix. Some famous faces, maybe some cultural symbols, animals from different regions, that sort of thing. I spent a good hour just sifting through. It’s like panning for gold, sometimes you find a good one, sometimes it’s just mud.
I started downloading a few that looked promising. PDFs, mostly. Some JPEGs too. My printer isn’t the best, so I was looking for clean lines, not too much tiny detail that would just turn into a blob. I tried to get a good selection – some famous artists, some historical figures, a few maps simplified, and some traditional patterns. I specifically looked for things that might spark a question from the kids.
Then came the printing part. This is where it always gets interesting. Fired up the old printer. First few pages came out okay. Then, you guessed it, “Low Ink” warning. Always happens. Had to rummage around for a spare cartridge. Found one, swapped it out. Printed a few more. Some pages I printed two of, because you know the kids will fight over the “good” ones.
Once I had a decent stack, maybe ten or fifteen different designs, I called the kids over. Spread them out on the table with a big box of crayons and colored pencils. “Alright guys, pick what you want.”
It was pretty cool to see them get into it. My youngest just went for the brightest colors, didn’t care much about staying in the lines. My older one was more careful. She started asking, “Who’s this person?” or “What’s this picture about?” That was exactly what I was hoping for. We talked a little bit about Frida Kahlo, about some of the instruments shown on one page. It wasn’t a deep dive history lesson, just casual chat while they colored.
Some pages were a definite hit. The ones with animals or musical instruments got a lot of attention. The super detailed portraits, not so much for the younger one. But that’s okay. They were busy, they were learning a tiny bit without even realizing it. And honestly, it kept them off screens for a solid hour.
So yeah, that was my little adventure with Hispanic Heritage Month coloring pages. Pretty simple, really. Found some stuff online, printed it, and let the kids have at it. It wasn’t some grand educational project, but it was a nice, quiet activity. And it opened the door for a few conversations, which is always a good thing. I’d do it again next year, for sure. Maybe I’ll even try to draw some myself if I’m feeling ambitious. Probably not, though. Printing is easier.
