Crab Coloring Page
About This Coloring Page
The crab is the beach animal built for counting: two big claws at the front and eight legs underneath, four on each side, so the count can be checked with a finger and then checked again. It is also the animal that walks sideways, which every child wants to try the moment they hear it.
The shell is one wide rounded shape for broad strokes, the claws are two big pincers that take the second colour, and the legs are the fine-motor work: eight narrow bent shapes, each one its own small target. The shell, the starfish and the wave behind are open shapes for a child who wants more.
Ask how a crab walks and let them show you across the kitchen floor. Then ask how many legs they have and how many the crab has, and whether the claws count. The page turns into a counting argument, which is the best kind.
Skills Practiced
How to Use This Coloring Page
- Count the legs before you colour. Four on each side, one to eight. Then the two claws. Ten altogether, or eight; let them decide.
- Do the shell first, the legs last. Big shape in broad strokes, then each thin leg on its own. The legs are the careful part.
- Walk like a crab. Sideways, across the floor. Then back to the page to colour the starfish it left behind.