Exploring Colors

Books

A list of color books for Pre-K children: Books

Songs

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Color Flags

I made these flags from sheets of felt, cut in half, and hot-glued them to dowel rods. We use them with color songs, such as “Colors All Around” and “A Rainbow of Colors”.

These songs can be downloaded immediately and burned to a CD or synced to your iPod:

Activities

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I See Colors Book

Make a layered book by folding it where each page is a little longer than the one before. Each page has a different color with the words “I see red” or “I see yellow”. Children draw pictures (with matching color crayon) on each page, or cut out pictures from magazines to glue in the book.

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Sorting by Color

Children sort paper cutouts by color and glue them onto a piece of paper that has lines drawn on it to divide it into sections. To make the paper cutouts, use paper punchers from a craft store (I have also seen these in the Lakeshore catalog).

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Color Swirl

We use milk in a pie pan, with one drop each of 4 colors of food coloring around the edge of the pan (you only need to pour enough milk in the pan to cover the bottom). The milk does not change color if we keep the pan still. Children add one drop of liquid dish detergent into the middle of the pan with an eyedropper. The colors swirl! After they watch the colors swirl for a bit, give them a toothpick to dip in the soap, then dip in the pan repeatedly to make the colors swirl some more.

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Graph

Make a graph of children’s favorite colors. Each child chooses one Unifix cube of their favorite color. Stack each color to make an object graph.

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Color Mixing with Water

Children experiment with mixing colored water. Use the primary colors (red, blue, yellow) to make new colors. Red, blue and yellow food color is added to water in a clear cup. Children use eyedroppers to get the colored water they want and mix the colors in a paint tray. We use plastic paint trays with 6 mini bowls. Children can dump their water into a bucket once they have filled the 6 bowls and start again. They can put drops of the colors they make on a paper towel, so that it can be saved.

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Color Mixing with Paint

The children are given a mixing tray, paintbrushes, and cups of paint with red, yellow, blue, white, and black. The clear mixing trays in the photo were leftover packaging from Easter eggs, but anything can be used. The red, yellow, and blue paint are the primary colors used for mixing secondary colors (green, purple, orange). The white is for making tints and the black is for making shades of color. The children freely experiment, mixing any colors they chose.

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Floating S Experiment

This is a really cool experiment I saw at a workshop I attended. I gave the children a bowl, a small cup of water, and a small cup of Skittles candy. The children were instructed to pour the water into the bowl (you only need enough water so that it will cover the Skittles.) Then they choose three different colors of Skittles to place in the bowl at the edges and spaced out so they weren’t touching each other (I let them eat the rest). The children observed what happened to the colors (the colors will spread out and eventually blend with other colors and the three S’s float to the top). I recorded their verbal observations on paper and the children recorded their observations by drawing what they saw in the bowl (see example). An important note: this experiment only works well if the bowl sits on a very stable surface, such as a table that does not shake or the floor. Make sure the children understand not to touch or move the bowl. Be sure to place the Skittles with the S side up.

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Paint Sample Cards

Get two of each color of paint sample cards from a hardware store. Children match each card by it’s hue. More shades and tints can be added to make the activity more challenging. Another way to use these in matching is to have children find a card that matches the same hue as the objects in the classroom (such as a pale blue bookcase) or objects from nature (such as a leaf or rock). Children can also sort the cards by color (all pinks together, all blues together, etc.)
Another way to do the above activity is to have children make their own color hue cards. Set up a color mixing activity and have children experiment with primary colors and white and black paint to make different shades and tints of color. Children paint their colors on two index cards for each color of paint they mixed.

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Flower Sorting

Children sort silk flowers by color. The flowers can be cut off of the stem and children sort them on the table, or leave the flowers on the stem and children can sort them into different vases.

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Colored Snack Spread

Children mix food coloring in white icing or soft cream cheese, spread the icing on graham crackers or a bagel half, and add a topping (sprinkles or semi sweet chocolate chips).

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Color Collages

Have children search through magazines for red pictures, and glue them onto red construction paper. Do the same with each color and use these as posters for the classroom.
Another Idea: Cut fabric of different patterns and colors into 1-inch squares, and give children different colors of construction paper cut in half. Make sure to have several patterns of each color fabric (ginghams, stripes, florals, plaids, polka dots). Children glue the pieces of fabric onto the matching color of construction paper (blue fabric on blue paper, yellow fabric on yellow paper, etc.) These can be made into a book or quilt.

Giant Color Dice

To make the dice: Cover a small square cardboard box with wrapping paper or bulletin board paper. I use a small Priority Mail box. Print out the dice printables, cut them out, and glue them onto the sides of the box.
To play: Children take turns rolling the die. When the die stops rolling, the child will look at the color on top, and find something in the room that is the same color.

Color Sorting Cups

Label clear punch cups with color names. Children sort a collection of small objects into the cups by color. Examples: crayons, small blocks, silk flowers, counting bears, ribbons, cloth pieces, colored rocks, leaves.

Color Bottles

Make color discovery bottles by putting colored water in a plastic sealed test tube or a drink bottle. Soap or oil can be added to the bottle for “special effects”. Color bottles also make an interesting decoration if placed on a windowsill or shelf.

Color Quest

Tell the children a color they are to find, and have them search around the classroom for one thing of that color. Everyone comes back to the circle, and the children share what they found.

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