There are a lot of different activities that are great for kids to learn their colors and numbers. Probably one of the favorite ways for a lot of kids is to use color by number printables for kids, which is why we decided to show you how you can easily make your own. While I love printables for kids as much as the next person, the cost of paper and ink can really add up if you’re not careful, which is why a great alternative is to learn how to make your own by reusing the coloring books you already have at home.

Color by numbers are usually like any other page in the coloring book, except they have numbers that coordinate with a color in the white spaces of the picture. For example, the number 1 could be the color blue, the number 2 the color orange, the number 3 the color yellow, number 4 the color green, number 5 the color purple, and it goes on and on and on.

These types of activities are great for teaching kids everything from recognizing numbers and colors to learning how to color things to be more realistic.

If your child already has a coloring book, then you don’t really need any printables because you can easily do this on your own using the ones you likely have just sitting around somewhere.

To convert one of your coloring books into a colors by number book, here are the materials you will need:

A black or dark gray colored pencil
An Index Card
Blue Crayon
Red Crayon
Green Crayon
Orange Crayon
Yellow Crayon
Red Crayon
Purple Crayon
Brown Crayon

Now, all you need to do is on the index card, write the numbers 1 through 8, with 4 on each side. Then, take the corresponding color and color in a little box beside it. If your children are older, you may want to spell out the color and then have them take the right color and color own its spelled name so they’ll have something to use for quick and easy reference.

The next step is to go about converting the pages in your coloring books with the numbers. Using the black or dark gray colored pencil, determine which things in the picture should be blue, and then write the corresponding number in that space. Do this until you have gone through all the numbers and colors and there are no empty spaces to color in left.

Once you’ve converted the book, the next thing you’ll want to do is to show your child how to use it! Your kids will love this simple and easy activity, and you’ll be glad you didn’t waste valuable printer ink or paper by reusing the old coloring books you already have!