Creative Mess animal Coloring Book Ollie Octopus

Coloring page story

Ollie the Octopus got a brand-new set of seashell paints for his birthday. "Oh, colours!" he gurgled happily. He had eight arms, so he thought, I can paint with all of them at once!

He dipped one arm in red, one in blue, one in yellow, one in green... Splat! Splish! Bloop! He wiggled and swirled, trying to paint a picture of his coral garden. But with eight arms all moving at once, the paints went everywhere! Red paint mixed with blue paint to make a murky purple puddle. Yellow paint splattered onto his favourite rock. Soon, his entire little grotto was a big, inky, colourful mess.

Ollie looked at the mess. It wasn't a beautiful picture at all. It was just... a blob. He felt his tentacles droop. "Oh, dear," he wobbled.

His friend, Pinchy the Crab, scuttled over. Pinchy liked everything to be neat and tidy. He saw the mess and his little eyes grew wide. But then he saw Ollie's sad face. "That's a very... colourful mess," Pinchy said kindly. "Making things is fun, isn't it?"

"It was," Ollie sighed, "but now it's just messy."

"Well," said Pinchy, clicking his claws. "Cleaning up can be a game, too! Let's get some sea sponges and make bubbles!"

Ollie's eyes lit up. They took sponges and scrubbed the rocks, making mountains of shimmery bubbles. They used their fins and tentacles to swish the murky water away. Soon, the grotto was sparkling clean. Ollie decided to try painting again, this time with just one arm at a time. He learned that making a mess can be part of the fun, as long as you have a friend to help you make things shiny and clean again.

Coloring page Age Appropriateness

The circular shapes of the bubbles and the octopus's head are fun and easy for 3-5 year olds to color. The theme of playing with bubbles is universally loved by this age group. The friendly, simple animal characters are engaging and the concept of cleaning as a game is a positive lesson.

Coloring Page Coloring Instructions

Let's clean up with Ollie and Pinchy! They are making a fun game out of it by making lots and lots of bubbles. You can make the bubbles any color you want! A rainbow of bubbles would be so pretty. What color is Ollie the Octopus? Pink? Purple? Orange? It's up to you! Let's make this underwater animal clean-up party the most colorful one ever.

Coloring Page Printing Tips

This page will look great on standard white paper. To add an extra layer of fun, print it out and then provide some circle stickers that kids can use to fill in the bubbles instead of coloring them, which is great for fine motor practice.

Recommended Tools

Washable markers will give the bubbles and sea creatures a bright, vivid look. Dot markers would also be incredibly fun for filling in the bubbles with perfect circles of color. This is a great activity for a playdate, as friends can color together just like Ollie and Pinchy.