First Day of Spring Coloring Page

Winter is packing up on this first day of spring coloring page. A laughing girl in a flower crown stands in the middle of a green field, with a little red bird perched on her raised hand. Right behind her, the last snowman of the year is melting into a puddle. He's still smiling, though, and he's waving goodbye with his stick arms.

A tree has burst into blossom on the right, next to a wooden sign that says HELLO SPRING. Crocuses, daffodils and a tulip are pushing up through the ground. A rabbit sits by the sign, a bee and a butterfly have just arrived, and a big sun beams down from the corner.

Level and age

It's a medium page, good for ages 5 to 10. The dress, the hills and the sky are simple, while the flowers and the blossoms take a little more care. Plan on about 30 minutes.

First day of spring coloring page color ideas

Think of the page as two seasons in one picture. Use cool colors on the left, around the snowman, with white snow and pale blue puddles. As you move right, the colors get warmer and brighter. By the time you reach the tree, everything should feel alive.

For the girl, try a yellow top and a pink skirt, or pick her outfit from the flowers on the ground. Her crown has five small flowers, so she can wear a little of every color on the page.

• Blossoms: pale pink with a yellow center
• Daffodils: yellow petals with an orange trumpet
• Crocuses: purple, yellow and pink
• Bird: red body with a darker wing

The grass will look richer with two greens. Use light green over the whole field, then add darker strokes around the flowers.

Tips for fresh spring color

Keep the sky light. A pale blue, laid on with a flat crayon, gives spring air its soft look. Dark skies belong to storms, not to this happy day.

The snowman is mostly white, so don't color him. Add a thin line of light blue along one side of each ball to show his shape. His hat, his carrot nose and the puddles will do the rest.

Blossoms look better when they aren't all the same. Color some darker in the center and leave the petal tips almost white. A pink marker does this nicely if you touch it to the middle and lift it fast.

What makes it the first day

Spring begins with the March equinox, which falls around March 20. The word equinox points to equal night, since day and night are close to the same length on that date. In the Northern Hemisphere it's called the vernal or spring equinox, and in September the fall equinox comes around. Kids might like knowing that names flip in the Southern Hemisphere, where the March date marks fall. See the Equinox page for more.

Welcome the season

Take the page outside on the day itself and go on a spring hunt. Tick off each thing from the picture that you can find near your home, such as a bird, a bud, a bee or a patch of melting snow. If you live somewhere warm, look for new leaves.

Plant a seed in a paper cup while you're at it. Tape the colored sheet to the wall above it, then measure the sprout each week.

Teachers can ask students to fold a sheet of paper in half. Label one side winter and the other spring, and list what changes. The picture gives them plenty of starting ideas.

You can also use the melting snowman for a short story. Where does he go when he's gone? Will he be back next year? Young writers often have very kind answers.

More spring pages

For more flowers and bugs, print the spring meadow coloring page. Kids who want a smiley version can try the kawaii spring coloring page.

Questions