Color and Light
- Children use their sense of sight to observe colors, identifying them and the differences between them.
- They also learn to classify when they sort colors and to predict when they mix primary colors to create secondary colors.
- Storytimes on color are ideal occasions to emphasize the early literacy skill of building vocabulary.
Science Center -- Instead of offering a craft at the end of your toddler or preschool storytimes, try one of these ideas:
- Sorting Station: Have children sort large colored buttons, plastic lids, craft sticks, silk flowers, pom poms, or similar items by color. Having a receptacle, such as a plastic pail, bowl, or egg carton, in the same colors as the items makes the sorting easier for your youngest patrons.
- Matching Station: Make a color memory matching game for young children and caregivers to play. Collect paint samples to use or make squares from colored card stock or construction paper.
- Color Mixing: Add red, blue, and yellow food coloring to three separate clear plastic cups of water. Children can use eyedroppers (with assistance if necessary) to mix colors in a separate cup. They can dump the water into a bucket when finished and begin again. Children could also place drops of color on a paper towel, so they may save their experiment. You might want to have smocks, aprons, or old t-shirts available for children to wear during this activity since food coloring can stain clothing.
Fun to Do Together
With older infants and toddlers, follow storytime with guided play. Invite children to play with colored blocks. Caregivers assist by asking the children to find a specific color block or suggesting they build a tower, etc., while talking about the colors and positions of the blocks. This activity helps build spacial awareness and vocabulary, as well as reinforcing color vocabulary and allows you to model guided play to caregivers. Remind caregivers that playing with simple toys like blocks is more beneficial than playing with pre-assembled toys, and that talking and interacting with their children as they play is crucial to their child's development.
With older infants and toddlers, follow storytime with guided play. Invite children to play with colored blocks. Caregivers assist by asking the children to find a specific color block or suggesting they build a tower, etc., while talking about the colors and positions of the blocks. This activity helps build spacial awareness and vocabulary, as well as reinforcing color vocabulary and allows you to model guided play to caregivers. Remind caregivers that playing with simple toys like blocks is more beneficial than playing with pre-assembled toys, and that talking and interacting with their children as they play is crucial to their child's development.
Super Cute Craft : Colorful Sprinkle Watercolors
What You Need
Rainbow Sprinkles (the long skinny kind)
Bowls
White heavyweight paper or card stock
Spray bottles
Newspaper
Prepare Ahead
Cover your work surface with newspaper. Place one sheet of paper out for each child. Put sprinkles in bowls within reach of the children. Fill spray bottles with water, make sure they are set to "spray" or "mist" and not "stream" and set them on the table.
What You Do
What You Need
Rainbow Sprinkles (the long skinny kind)
Bowls
White heavyweight paper or card stock
Spray bottles
Newspaper
Prepare Ahead
Cover your work surface with newspaper. Place one sheet of paper out for each child. Put sprinkles in bowls within reach of the children. Fill spray bottles with water, make sure they are set to "spray" or "mist" and not "stream" and set them on the table.
What You Do
- Children may scatter the sprinkles on the paper however they want. Older children may want to try making pictures with the sprinkles by grouping the colors together. (Green for grass, blue for sky, yellow sun, etc.).
- Once they like the way it looks, ask them to lightly mist the sprinkles and paper with the spray bottles. The dye from the sprinkles will start to spread onto the paper like watercolor paint.
- Once the paper is dry, brush the sprinkles off onto the newspaper.
- This activity is appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers.
Take Home Activity : Fun With Color
Look around your home for objects that are complementary colors and pair them up. Complementary colors are found opposite each other on the color wheel--for example, children could pair a red pail and a green sponge, or a yellow towel and purple grapes.
Say the name and color of each item as you show it to your child. You can make this into a game by asking your child to point to something of a particular color. If your child isn't sure, give them a hint by attaching an object name to the color. ("Where is the blue truck?") Once they find the blue object, together look for something that is orange. Continue with the other complementary colors.
Look around your home for objects that are complementary colors and pair them up. Complementary colors are found opposite each other on the color wheel--for example, children could pair a red pail and a green sponge, or a yellow towel and purple grapes.
Say the name and color of each item as you show it to your child. You can make this into a game by asking your child to point to something of a particular color. If your child isn't sure, give them a hint by attaching an object name to the color. ("Where is the blue truck?") Once they find the blue object, together look for something that is orange. Continue with the other complementary colors.