Melody Ellison Coloring sheet
In recognition of Black History Month, we are excited to share a special American Girl Doll inspired Melody Ellison coloring sheet. Melody Ellison sang her way into our hearts years ago and taught our kids about integrity, challenges, and hope by her example. Feel free to print out this high resolution Melody Ellison coloring printable from home or school. Simply click and print. If you click and print without downloading you will have a small “American Girl” sized printable that you can cut out from a larger piece of paper. If you download first and print you will have a human sized printable. Fans of 18 inch dolls with dozens of accessories may have just as much fun printing out a doll sized coloring sheet as one for themselves. Printables are free and you do not have to sign up for anything!
Melody holds a special place in our family. Melody Ellison was the first ‘real’ American girl doll that our youngest daughter got to call her own. American Girl Dolls are a splurge, but they are well made and cherished for years. Our daughters are 8 and 13 and both still love to braid their hair, dress them up, and read their books. In a world where everyone seems to be in a rush to grow up fast, I am thankful for the sweet innocence of American Girl. I also love that the Beforever series opens up a world of learning to American Girl Doll fans by setting the doll’s story in important historical moments.
Our oldest LOVES Mini dolls! Mini dolls come with a book and are a tiny version of the larger dolls, but much less expensive. While an 18 inch doll may be out of the budget at $100, a mini doll is generally about $20. My teenager still loves to collect minis!
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Last year we shared about Melody Ellison along with several books for tweens and teens for Black History Month but we wanted to add more options this year. While I think it is important to make every effort to understand our country’s history every day; it is especially important for us to focus on Black History during the month of February. We shared about books that were helpful for our kids last year. This year we want to share an awesome movie as well as a free printable. I think it is important to incorporate as many learning opportunities as we can with our kids.
Amazon Prime has so many movies available to subscribers. “Melody 1963 : Love Has to Win” is included with Prime membership. This movie is great for the whole family. Melody 1963 stars Blackish star Marsai Martin as Melody Ellison. Family movie nights in are a great opportunity to learn and start a conversation as a family. While Melody’s story is obviously fictional, it is based in our country’s true history. Melody is a fictional character who lived during the Civil Rights movement in Detroit Michigan. The movie has beautiful music and an uplifting message along with some difficult truths.
Coloring books and printable activity sheets are one of my favorite learning tools. When my kids were very little, we used to read them history books while they colored a related coloring sheet. While the kids would color in the lines we would talk about the lesson. I understand our kids will not learn the complexity of the Civil Rights movement by coloring one coloring sheet, but my hope is it will be the start of a life long conversation. Every printable on our site is free to print from your home or school computer. You may download and color with your iPad or tablet too! Please feel free to share these printables with teachers and American girl doll fans that you think might enjoy it. Our printables are high resolution and easy to share.
Coloring sheets are great learning tools, but they are also just plain fun. Some of my earliest memories are me sitting at my kitchen counter with a coloring book and a 64 crayon box of Crayolas, the one with the crayon sharpener in the back! Printable Melody Ellison coloring sheets can be used as a fun and free activity at a Melody themed party. These coloring sheets can be printed out and brought along for the ride on a trip to The American Girl Doll store. Kids can print this out from home and color in Melody’s iconic teal and green dress or redesign her dress all together. If you are hosting an American Girl Doll themed party, we also have a Joss Kendrick coloring page, as well as astronaut themed coloring sheets inspired by Luciana Vega. We will be adding more American Girl Doll inspired coloring sheets and activity sheets as well so make sure to bookmark our printable page.
“With all the bravery in her heart, Melody confronts the challenges in her life and teaches girls to do the same, as both a leader and a partner. After a church bombing in Alabama, Melody must summon all her strength to perform a tribute in front of her own congregation.Melody realizes that uniting voices is important for more than just singing, so she marches with others to demand equality and justice throughout the country.When her pastor asks how everyone can do more, Melody leads the charge to fix up a neighborhood playground and plant a garden.”
While we love Melody’s fictional story, I was thrilled to see “The March On Washington” as a new book option from American Girl. This book shares a REAL story about the Civil Rights movement. Our kids are enjoying this book on their Kindles as we speak!
Again, Melody’s story is fictional, but it is based in research of actual events from our country’s history. While the 1960s were really not that long ago, the idea of segregation and the need for the Civil rights movement is something that my kids have a really hard time wrapping their heads around. Like several other historical characters, American Girl has opened up an opportunity for our kids to learn about the Civil Rights movement. My daughter has already read one of Melody’s books and it has opened up questions and conversations that I truly believe will help her understand where our country has come from and what we can do to continue improving as a society.
If you are a blogger or writer looking for printable coloring sheets for your blog, magazine, or book, please check out my website Kate Ham Art and follow my growing Instagram account @KateHamArt . Do not hesitate to reach out if you would like me to create printables or book illustrations for your next project. If you or your child colors one of our printables, please share it on social media and tag our page. I will always share printables in our instagram stories and I would love to feature you!
