Lately Nugget has really been developing his vocabulary. It seems like I hear a new word several times a day lately, and I love it! He didn’t speak as early as Goose (which I think is quite typical for younger siblings) and all too often I find myself comparing the two. I know that’s a major no-no but it’s so hard not to, when two children are so close in age. Luckily, his new-found interest in vocabulary has resulted in some major interest in tot school activities. So this week I have focused more on Nugget and developed an early tot school color unit.

Of course Goose has known his colors for quite some time, but even he has enjoyed some of the activities I devised. Since he doesn’t require vocabulary building I focused on visual discrimination, sorting, and of course fine motor skills.

Rainbow Colored Sensory Bottles

What, I used Voss water bottles to make a set of sensory bottles for a tot school unit?? You’re shocked I’m sure. This set of sensory bottles was so fun and easy, and best of all I had all the supplies I needed around the house. I actually made these when Goose was little, but pulled them out of storage this week to introduce to Nugget. As you can see in the pictures, the boys have hidden my red bottle so please forgive my incomplete rainbow. Lately hiding things (and themselves!) seems to be a favorite game of theirs.

Supplies:

• 6 medium Voss water bottles
• Super Glue
• a WIDE assortment of colored items from around your house (examples below)

Instructions:

1. Empty your Voss bottles (I water my plants with it because I can’t stand the taste. Great for crafting, awful for drinking!)
2. Remove labels by warming with a hairdryer to loosen adhesive
3. Allow bottles to dry thoroughly before proceeding. Even a tiny bit of moisture can cause mildew to form inside your bottles down the road.
4. Fill your bottles by color until they are mostly full, leaving just enough space for items to shake and move.
5. Use superglue to secure the lid.
6. Give them to your kiddos and watch as they stack them, shake them, and turn them into light sabers (or is that just my boys?) and hopefully learn their colors along the way.

Some suggestions on filling your bottles:

This is a great opportunity to clean out that junk drawer, the back of your craft closet, and even that pile of random mismatched toy pieces. You can fill your bottles with ANYTHING. In fact, the more variety the better. Mine include Easter basket grass, beads, sequins, ribbon, pompoms, pipe cleaners, a barrette, cheap plastic toys that we’ve gotten free  from the dentist office, baby food pouch lids and more. Seriously – anything goes. You don’t even have to worry about choking hazards since the bottle is glued shut!

Color Discrimination Cards

I designed these color discrimination cards using paint samples from my local home improvement store. They were easy to make and the only cost was a package of clothespins and about 20 min. time. The idea of the cards is to help the child discern between varying shades within a color family. Some of these required a second look for me, so I know this is a challenging activity for kids. Goose really enjoyed matching the colors to each strip, but then took the task one step further by going around our house looking for matching colors. I suspect I will be finding color clips around the house for weeks, but he was learning and having fun so what more could I ask for?

Supplies:

• 2 sets of paint sample cards from your local home improvement store. I selected a strip in each of the ROYGBIV colors and then grabbed a duplicate set of the same strips.
• A package of clothespins
• Hot glue gun or other adhesive

Nice to have but not necessary: a square hole punch (about 1″x1″), and a laminator.

Instructions:

1. Using a square punch or scissors, cut a 1″x1″ square from each color.
2. If desired, laminate the squares for added durability
3. Use hot glue to attach one square to the top of each clothespin
4. Match each color to its color strip and use the clothespin to attach it.

Early Tot School Color Sorting

This activity is so simple I feel like the pictures alone are pretty self-explanatory. All you need are 2 colored bins full of matching ball pit balls or similar, and one eager tot. Dump out the balls and then help your child to sort them by color into the appropriate basket. Depending on your child’s age you could make this more difficult by adding additional colors.

Homemade Wooden Rainbow

OK, how amazing is this wooden rainbow. If I can take a moment to brag, my Dad made this for Goose for his birthday a few years ago after he saw me lusting after the Grimm’s 6-Piece Rainbow Stacker. I would love to give you guys a detailed tutorial on how to make one yourself but honestly, he’s a craftsman and I know absolutely nothing about woodworking. The rainbow was just too pretty not to show though, and has proven to be such a versatile plaything. If you have the money I totally recommend buying one from Grimm’s 6-Piece Rainbow Stacker. If like me, you can’t justify shelling out that kind of cash for wooden blocks here is a tutorial from Shape of a Spoon.

The individual arches have seen use as headbands, bridges, car garages (of course!), and toy animal pins. Mixed with traditional blocks they open up so many new avenues for creative play. Plus they help teach colors!

Touch & Feel Color Cards

If you followed my posts during our Farm themed tot school unit you’re likely already aware of my love for the DK line of touch and feel picture cards. They come in a wide range of themes and so far we have loved every set we order. To help add a tactile element to our color learning activities I brought out our My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards: Colors & Shapes. As you can see in the picture they are large, sturdy enough to withstand a rough toddler and each card features a large tactile surface. The images are bright and compelling – just right for slowing down your busy mover long enough to learn a little. The backs of the cards feature several conversational prompts for you to use with your child, as well as translations to introduce the word in multiple languages. As you’ll see in the picture, the color blue is expressed in Spanish, French, German and Chinese.

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