Kawaii Summer Coloring Page

This kawaii summer coloring page puts a giant smiling watermelon slice right on the beach. Little dark seeds dot its red middle, and its green rind curves around the page like a big grin. In front, an ice cream cone, a glass of lemonade, a pineapple and a blue flip flop all share a checked picnic cloth. Even the sun, the cloud and the kite have faces.

Made for small hands, it works well for kids around 3 to 8. Plan on 15 to 20 minutes. A three year old may only finish the watermelon, and that still looks great on the fridge.

Meet the summer friends

The watermelon is the star. It takes up nearly half of the sheet, so there is lots of room for a chunky crayon. Look for the small dark seeds around its face. A beach ball hides just behind it on the right, and a tiny red crab peeks out from under the rind.

The pink ice cream wears a cherry like a little hat. Its waffle cone is split into small diamonds, which gives older kids a slow, careful job. The lemonade glass has a wheel of lemon on the rim and one ice cube floating at the top. Next to it, the pineapple has rows of tiny diamonds around its round yellow face.

Up in the sky, a pink kite floats between the sun and a cloud. All three look down at the party below.

Kawaii summer coloring page color ideas

Red and green are the obvious picks for the melon, and they work. After that, feel free to get silly. A purple pineapple or a blue ice cream fits this style very well, because kawaii art loves soft, sweet colors.

Try one of these sets if your child wants a plan:

• Pastel pink melon with a mint rind and a lavender sky
• Peach ice cream, butter yellow lemonade and a pale blue flip flop
• A bright rainbow cloth, with one new color for each row of squares

The picnic cloth is a good pattern game. Pick two colors and take turns with your child, square by square. Red and white is the classic, but orange and yellow feels just as sunny.

Tips for tiny artists

Leave the white shine in every eye. Those small dots make each face look awake, so point them out before you start. If a dot gets colored over, a white gel pen brings it back.

For soft pink cheeks, turn a crayon on its side and rub gently. Press harder on the rind, where you want strong color. Thin printer paper can curl under markers, so crayons are the safer pick for a small child.

Start with the watermelon if your child tires fast. The big win comes early, and the small friends can wait for tomorrow.

What kawaii means

The word kawaii comes from Japan and means cute or adorable. The style uses rounded shapes, big eyes and small mouths, which is exactly what you see on this sheet. It began to take off in the 1970s.

Here is a fun one for older kids. Back then, many Japanese teen girls wrote in big, round letters and added tiny hearts and stars. It was so hard to read that many schools banned it!

Play with it after coloring

Cut out the four friends on the cloth and glue each one to a craft stick. Now you have a small puppet show for a rainy day. What does the pineapple say to the flip flop? The answers are often the best part.

You can also draw two eyes and a small smile on real things around the house. A cup, a shoe or a banana all count. Take a photo of the best one.

Teachers can use the page for counting. Ask the class to find every face, then write the total on the board.

More sweet pages to print

Want a melon without a face? Try the watermelon coloring page. The popsicle coloring page has three more happy treats, all packed in a cooler of ice.

Questions