Easy Early Tot School Color Unit
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:
- Empty your Voss bottles (I water my plants with it because I can’t stand the taste. Great for crafting, awful for drinking!)
- Remove labels by warming with a hairdryer to loosen adhesive
- Allow bottles to dry thoroughly before proceeding. Even a tiny bit of moisture can cause mildew to form inside your bottles down the road.
- Fill your bottles by color until they are mostly full, leaving just enough space for items to shake and move.
- Use superglue to secure the lid.
- 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
Instructions:
- Using a square punch or scissors, cut a 1″x1″ square from each color.
- If desired, laminate the squares for added durability
- Use hot glue to attach one square to the top of each clothespin
- 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
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
from Amazon looks similar. Initially I introduced the activity as a simple transfer from one dish to another, then as Goose mastered the tongs I increased the difficulty by adding a color sorting element. As a surprise I didn’t mention that the stars are intended for freezing, so after working with them at room temperature several times Goose was shocked to find them frozen one day!
by Patricia Pingry. This book is part of a fantastic series of board books about historical figures. We read the story of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin. The series also includes the story of America’s Birthday, Gettysburg, the Star Spangled Banner, Rosa Parks and more. I hope to add the rest of our collection soon.
. This guide is something I picked up last year at a consignment sale on a whim, and it turned out to be a valuable resource. Each page shows a portrait of the president and offers a brief bio. The stories are short enough that even Goose could follow them, and he delighted in picking the funniest looking presidents so I could read their stories. Even I have a hard time keeping some of the more obscure presidents straight (I’m looking at you John Tyler and Millard Fillmore!) So I don’t know how much Goose will really remember but if nothing else he is learning that history can be fun and that lesson alone is valuable.
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