2025 Summer Theme:
Color Your World!
Let’s brighten our community—one vibrant color at a time!
In collaboration with CREATE Community Studios and Albany Center Gallery, we invite children and families across the Greater Capital Region to unleash their creativity through colorful weekly art activities.
Each week, we'll spotlight a color of the rainbow—encouraging kids to explore that hue through hands-on art projects and self-expression. For youth ages 18 and under, these activities are available at participating Summer Meals sites. Each project will be inspired by the featured color of the week.
Download the Color Your World coloring sheets from our Summer Meals activity partners!
Choose from rainbow scavenger hunts, color by numbers and a variety of coloring sheets to help you COLOR YOUR WORLD!
RED WEEK
Wild About RED: UPCYCLE household items to make your favorite WILD CRITTERS! Tip: Use red acrylic paint to fit the theme. Butterflies, ladybugs, parrots, fish, and more!
RED-y, Set, Stamp: Did you know you can use FRUIT TO MAKE ART? Try using strawberries or apples and acrylic paint to make some FUN PRINTS and PATTERNS!
Power Up With RED: Incorporating RED WHOLE FOODS into your snacks or meals is a great way to get some FIBER & VITAMIN C. Did you know kids should try to eat 2 CUPS of fruit per day? Try adding red to your NEXT MEAL!
The Big Red Coloring Page: Check out a red-themed COLORING SHEET from friends at ALBANY CENTER GALLERY! Make a drawing of YOUR CHOICE and create a RED-inspired meal.
Need inspiration?
ORANGE WEEK
ORANGE you Ready to Erupt?: Use things around your house to create a volcano and lava! Maybe turn a paper plate into a cone shape and use a hair dryer to melt orange crayons to create lava!
One Cool Color: Can you find a bunch of orange supplies around your house? Pipe cleaners, construction paper, markers, or toys? put them all together to create an orange monochromatic collage
The Big Orange Coloring Page: Check out Albany Center Gallery’s coloring sheets for an orange theme coloring activity. Let your creativity flow and design anything you want!
Make a BeeLine for it! Check out a honeycomb orange-themed maze! Or make your own! Can you make it out of the hive?
Need Inspiration?
YELLOW WEEK
SUN-Sational Spinners: Try using a paper plate, some yellow paint and anything you would like to create a sun! As a bonus, try poking the plate through a pencil or straw and spin it around!
BEE-YOU-tiful Thumb Prints: Did you know every single person’s thumb print is unique? Use yellow paint and your thumbs to make yellow thumb prints. Add stripes, antenas and wings with a marker!
GO FOR GOLD(en grains): 50% of our grains should be whole grains! Whole grains are high in fiber and help protect you against cancer and heart disease. Oats, beans, and whole grain bread could be fun to try!
Yellow Coloring Page: Check out a yellow-themed COLORING SHEET from friends at ALBANY CENTER GALLERY! Make a drawing of YOUR CHOICE and create a RED-inspired meal.
Need Inspiration?
GREEN WEEK
Beads of GREEN. Bugs of Fun!: Use beads and pipe cleaners and make little critters. Curl the pipe cleaner to make crawly little caterpillars or bend them to make the wings of a butterfly. String the beads and make your bugs of fun come to life!
Jumpin' Green Frogs!: Can you find things around your house to make little finger puppets? Maybe a toilet paper role? Or cardboard? Paint it green and you have your very own frog finger puppet!
Green Lights for Good Bites: Green light foods are foods our body can’t get enough of! Think of fruits and vegetables! Green means GO! Eat healthy foods to keep your body going healthy and strong!
Green Coloring Sheet: Check out a green-themed COLORING SHEET from friends at ALBANY CENTER GALLERY! Make a drawing of YOUR CHOICE and create a GREEN-inspired meal.
NEED INSPIRATION?
BLUE WEEK
BLUE-tiful doodles: Grab some crayons, white paper and a pen to create some colorful transfer doodles. Try BLUE crayons to fit this weeks theme, but don’t stop there! You can use any color you want! Check out our website for a transfer doodle tutorial!
Build a bluefin fish collage: Do you have a paper plate at home? Create a fish by cutting a triangle out from one of the edges to create its mouth and paste the cut piece to create its tail. Draw some extra fins, eyes and tissue paper to decorate your plate and bring your fish to life!
Super Foods: Blue berries: Blue berries are a heart healthy, power snack and are in season during the summer! They are excellent in pancakes, in oatmeal or yogurt, smoothies, pie and more! Can you get creative with blueberries? Snap a photo and share your favorite blueberry recipe!
The Big Blue Coloring page: Check out a BLUE-themed COLORING SHEET from friends at ALBANY CENTER GALLERY! Make a drawing of YOUR CHOICE and create a GREEN-inspired meal.
Need inspiration?
INDIGO WEEK
Check back for more fun INDIGO Activities
VIOLET WEEK
Check back for more fun VIOLET Activities
Submit Your Artwork and Be Part of the 518 Digital Rainbow!
Every young artist has a place in our community masterpiece! Submit your artwork each week and help create a giant digital rainbow—made entirely of kids’ art from across the region.
By the end of summer, all submissions will come together in one bold, beautiful digital collage—a celebration of color, creativity, and community: the 518 Digital Rainbow.
How to Submit:
Text a photo of your finished piece to the United Way GCR's Community Impact Team at 518-640-2365.
Let’s color our world together!
A Journey Through Color, Imagination, and Joy
From bold reds to tranquil blues, this is more than art—it’s a joyful journey fueled by imagination. Let each color inspire your creativity and bring more beauty to our community.
Check out the weekly prompts and ideas for how you can participate and celebrate every shade of the rainbow.
