A sheep's woolly coat never stops growing, so most sheep need a haircut called shearing at least once a year. You'll find that big day on the farm in our 80 sheep coloring pages, along with plenty of leaping lambs, and every page is a free printable you can download as a PDF in US Letter or A4.
The simplest pages are made for toddlers and preschoolers, with big, round, woolly sheep and extra-thick outlines that are easy for small hands to follow. Older kids get fuller scenes to take their time over, from a sheepdog trial on a hillside to a busy shearing day in the barn and a shepherd's hut surrounded by the flock.
There are some lovely breeds to discover too, including dark-faced Suffolks, four-horned Jacob sheep and curly-fringed Valais sheep. If your child enjoys these, take a look at our Cow coloring pages and Horse coloring pages too.
These ideas need only simple supplies like cotton balls, paper and a drinking straw. They're easy to set up at home and work well for a spring theme in the classroom.
Make a fluffy cotton ball sheep
The woolly sheep standing in the grass is perfect for adding real fluff. Little fingers get great practice pulling cotton balls apart and pressing them onto the page.
It's a lovely texture to touch once it's finished.
You'll need:
A colored woolly sheep page
Cotton balls
White glue
How to do it:
Color the face, legs and grass first.
Spread a thin layer of glue over the woolly body.
Pull the cotton balls into smaller puffs and press them onto the glue.
Leave the page flat to dry before hanging it up.
Use stretched-out cotton for a lamb and fat puffs for a grown-up sheep.
Play a shearing day game
Use the freshly sheared sheep page to show what a sheep looks like after its haircut. Then give it a removable fleece so kids can be the shearer.
They'll love "shearing" it again and again.
You'll need:
The freshly sheared sheep page
Cardstock
Cotton balls
Removable sticky tack
How to do it:
Color the sheared sheep and glue it onto cardstock.
Press small blobs of sticky tack all over its body.
Stick cotton ball puffs onto the tack to give the sheep a full fleece.
Let kids pull the puffs off one by one to shear their sheep.
Collect the "wool" in a little basket, just like a real shearing day.
Make a counting sheep bedtime book
Counting sheep is a classic way to drift off to sleep. Color a handful of sheep and lambs, like the lamb asleep curled up and the sheep lying down in the grass, and put them in a little book to count through at bedtime.
It doubles as gentle number practice.
You'll need:
Five to ten small sheep and lamb pictures
Colored paper
A stapler or hole punch and ribbon
A marker
How to do it:
Glue one sheep onto the first page, two onto the next and so on.
Write the number at the bottom of each page.
Add a cover with a sleepy moon and stars.
Staple or tie the pages together along one edge.
By the last page, someone is usually yawning.
Play a sheepdog herding game
Sheepdogs guide sheep into a pen, just like on the page with the sheepdog herding sheep into a pen. Kids can try it themselves by blowing paper sheep across the table with a straw.
It's harder than it looks, and very funny.
You'll need:
A few small colored sheep, cut out
A drinking straw for each player
A shoebox lid or a paper fence for the pen
How to do it:
Cut out three or four small sheep and fold the base so they stand.
Set up a pen with an open side at one end of the table.
Take turns blowing through the straw to move the sheep towards the pen.
See who can get all the sheep in with the fewest puffs.
Add a whistle for the shepherd to make it even sillier.
Make a bouncing lamb
Lambs are famous for springing straight up into the air when they play. Color the lamb leaping with all four feet off the ground, then mount it on a paper spring so it really bounces.
It makes a cheerful spring decoration for a desk or windowsill.
You'll need:
The leaping lamb page
Two long strips of paper
Cardstock for a base
Glue and scissors
How to do it:
Color the lamb and cut it out.
Glue the ends of the two paper strips together at a right angle.
Fold them over each other again and again to make a springy zigzag.
Glue the bottom to the cardstock base and the lamb to the top, then give it a tap.
Make a whole field of them for a springtime display.
Sheep have wide, rectangular pupils that let them see almost all the way around without turning their heads. It helps them spot danger while they keep on grazing.
Looking for more farm friends? Wander back to our Farm Animals coloring pages to find horses, cows, pigs and chickens too.
Words to know about Sheep
Shepherds use some special words for sheep, so here are a few to learn while you color.
Ewe - a grown-up female sheep, often a mother looking after her lambs.
Fleece - the thick, woolly coat that grows all over a sheep's body.
Shearing - cutting off a sheep's fleece, a bit like giving it a haircut.
Flock - a group of sheep that live and graze together in the same field.
Crook - a long stick with a hooked top that shepherds use to guide sheep.
Lanolin - a natural oily wax in sheep's wool that helps keep the rain out.
Sheepfold - a pen with walls or fences where sheep are kept safe together.
Coloring Pages FAQ
Can a club, library group, or kids group use these coloring pages?
Yes - group leaders can print pages for non-commercial educational use.
Do I have to sign up to download these coloring pages?
No - you can download or print without creating an account.
Do you keep adding new categories?
Yes - we’re always expanding Crafty Josh with new categories and printables.
Do these coloring pages come with commercial rights?
No - they do not include commercial rights, and they can’t be sold or redistributed.
Do I need special paper for markers or paint?
Not required, but thicker paper or cardstock helps reduce bleed-through when using markers or paint.
