Spooky Forest Path Coloring Page

Bare trees crowd both sides of a path that narrows as it runs away from you. Stepping stones dot the middle of the track, grassy verges edge it, and the branches close overhead into a tangle of fine twigs.

There is nothing alive on this page, which turns out to be its strength. An empty path is an invitation and children fill it. Ask what is waiting at the far end before they start and you will get answers from a witch to a stray dog to nothing at all, then they draw it, and the finished sheet belongs to them in a way a completed outline never does.

Perspective is the quiet lesson here. The trunks nearest the edges are broad and the ones further in are slim, so a child who colors the near trees darker than the far ones gets real depth without being taught anything.

The bark lines are fine and numerous, so pencils beat crayons on the trunks. The verges and the open path take broad color fast, which keeps the sheet from feeling like homework. Print one per child, ask each to add a different thing to the path, and line the results up afterwards.