Why I’m Making Free Printables

As soon as I started working on Art Adventurers, I knew I wanted to create something more than “just a book.” Something extra to offer the families who follow the series. Daniel and I thought of some really cool ideas: temporary tattoos, trading cards, even Art Adventurers Club memberships.

Oddly enough, aside from coloring pages, printables weren’t even on my radar until recently. If you're not sure what children’s printables are, they're fun and/or educational activity sheets you can print out and hand to a bored 5-year-old. (Or 6-year-old. Or 7-year-old. You get my drift.)

It’s something extra for parents, teachers, or caregivers.

And for me? Once I actually thought about it — it made perfect sense.

The Homeschool Flashback

What a lot of people don’t know is that I used to homeschool all of my younger siblings. Some I taught just for a summer, others for almost their entire education. So, when it came time to brainstorm what kind of printables I could offer, my brain immediately went into teacher mode.

In my marketing research, something I’ve come across over and over is this idea:

Always offer something of value.

I’ll admit — when it comes to marketing yourself or your brand on social media, I’m not always sure what that means. What if I don’t have anything of value yet? What if I’m just trying to get myself out there?

But for Art Adventurers? For me, offering value meant creating worksheets that weren’t just cute — but genuinely useful. Sure, some printables can just be boredom busters or give parents a few minutes to load the dishwasher. But there should also be things that a kindergartener, first grader, or second grader could learn from.

Brushing Up on Basics

It had been a while since I was in teaching mode, so I gave myself a little crash course. I reviewed what kids typically learn by the end of each school year and used that as a guide. That way, I could create specific worksheets for each grade.

Then, I made a master list of worksheet ideas:

- Letter recognition

- Basic math

- Connect-the-dots

- Doodle prompts

- Art supply scavenger hunts

- Caleb-approved drawing challenges

Some of the activities are themed directly around the Art Adventurers universe, which makes them even more fun for readers.

Designing with Canva (and What You Need to Know)

A lot of indie authors and small business owners recommend using Canva to make your printables. I hadn’t used Canva much in the past, so I had no idea just how many templates they offer. But there’s a catch:

You can’t just grab a premade worksheet and slap your name on it.

Even with a Pro account, if you’re offering the worksheet as a freebie (or selling it), you have to make the worksheet your own.

My personal rule:

If the draw of the worksheet is the illustration or concept, you need to change that part.

For example:

- If it’s a duck coloring page… change the animal or find a different duck.

- If it’s a shape-based addition worksheet… swap the shapes or rearrange the problems.

- If it’s theme-based (like space or dinosaurs), make sure your version has a unique spin.

Also: changing the color palette is a great touch — especially if you have your own brand colors

What’s Next?

I’m still in the middle of building out my printable library, but it’s actually more fun than I thought it would be. Some days drag on and I'd rather not commit to more work, but most days, it reminds me of making lesson plans my siblings would actually have fun doing.

And it reminds me how fast kids grow up — but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Because when you’re doing your best for your little ones, they grow into adults who can take what you’ve passed onto them and use it in their own way to make the world a better place.

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