Colors
Theme Box
Designed to meet these objectives:
• Students will listen attentively and respond to instructions.
• Students will use oral language to describe objects and experiences.
• Students will learn new words and expand vocabulary.
• Students will use descriptive language.
• Students will develop number sense.
• Students will count concrete objects.
• Students will compare and arrange objects in sequence.
• Students will participate in the creation and analysis of simple graphs.
• Students will identify colors.
• Students will make scientific observations.
• Students will develop gross and fine motor skills.
Your new Colors Theme Box has everything you need for comprehensive, hands-on lessons that span
the curriculum. We’ve included a wide variety of props and manipulatives that help children explore
a rainbow of colors! Inside this guide, you’ll find ideas for dozens of involving, color-themed activities
covering 10 cross-curricular learning areas from math to dramatic play. We’ve even included a list of
terrific children’s books to build up your classroom library. The Colors Theme Box is a perfect way to
capture children’s attention and boost essential skills!
What’s Included
• 6 colored sorting bowls
• 30 colored pom-poms
• 50 colored craft sticks
• Color tablets
• 4 pipettes
• 6 color beanbags
• Storage tub
©2009 Lakeshore
(800) 428-4414
www.lakeshorelearning.com
• Colors Memory Game
•R
ed, green, and yellow apples •K
aleidoscope
• 4 color viewers
• 10 color word writing cards
• 4 write & wipe markers
FF962
Ages 3+
Printed in China
Language
Language
• Place the Colors Memory Game cards facedown in three rows. Invite a player to begin by turning
two cards faceup. Have her identify each picture, such as “red apple” and “yellow duck.” If the cards
match, the player may keep them. If not, she turns them facedown again and another player takes a turn.
•Review the colors on the word cards. Then, place them in your writing center with the write & wipe markers
so children can practice writing color words.
• Show children the three apples and help them name the colors. Brainstorm other natural objects, such as
“dogs,” “eyes,” “leaves,” and so on, that come in a variety of colors, and list them on the classroom board.
• Gather a small group of children and give each child a beanbag. Then, practice positional words with instructions such as, “Put your beanbag on your head,” or “Hold your beanbag between your knees.”
• Display the color word cards as models. Prompt children to copy each word using a marker or crayon of that
same color (for example, write “red” in red ink, “blue” in blue ink, and so on).
•Use six different colored markers to write one color name each on six different paper bags. Then, invite children to choose bags to take home. Remind them to bring back something that matches the color written on
the bag. Have them show their objects and describe them during circle time.
Art
Art
• Knead two colors of play dough together to make a third color. How many colors can you make?
• Cut or tear colored tissue paper into pieces and arrange them on wax paper so that some parts
overlap. Paint with liquid starch to create a stained glass window effect.
• Use the color tablets to prepare colored water, following the directions on the package. Then, use the pipettes to put droplets on coffee filters. Mist with water to create a tie-dye effect.
• Set out white and black tempera paint, plus one other color, such as red. Encourage children to try mixing
different amounts of white paint with the colored paint to create tints of the color. Then, have them add black
paint to the colored paint to make shades of the color. What happens if you add too much black?
• View some examples of impressionist paintings. Use magnifiers to see the details, and discuss how the artists used dabs or strokes of colors that are “mixed” by the viewer’s eyes. Then, invite children to create their
own impressionist paintings by dabbing dots of various colors onto white construction paper. Display the
paintings and look at them close-up. Then, move to the opposite side of the room and look again. Do the
pictures look different from far away?
Sand & Water
• Use the color tablets to color water in several containers. Encourage children to experiment by
pouring different colors into your water table. What happens when red and yellow are combined?
What colors can be mixed to form green?
• Provide small containers of colored sand for children to explore and mix on white paper plates.
Art
Science
• Fill a clear cup with hot water, and fill another with ice water. Drop a color tablet into each, but do
not stir. In which cup does the color mix more quickly?
• On a sunny day, look for rainbows in the fine mist of water sprayed from a hose. (Tip: Try this in the morning
or afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky. Stand with the sun behind your back.) Discuss how “white”
sunlight is actually a combination of all of the colors of light we can see in a rainbow.
•On a day when rain is forecast, take a plastic tablecloth or shower curtain outside and spread it on the
ground. Sprinkle several colors of powdered tempera paint on the surface and take a photo. Return after the
rain and take another photo. What changed? Why?
• Set out the kaleidoscope and color paddles for children to explore. Discuss what they see when they look
through the kaleidoscope and color paddles. What do they see when they use these tools together?
• Use the color paddles to look at the three different color apples. Make a chart showing the color that each
apple appears to be when seen through a red, green, blue, or yellow color paddle. Are children surprised by
any of these colors?
Art
Music
• Make and play your own glass xylophone! Fill six small glass jars with varying levels of colored
water. (Mix the colors as needed so that each jar has a distinct color.) Then, tap each glass with a
pencil to hear its musical note. Help students compose a short tune on the glass xylophone, and then record
it on paper by coloring dots to match the water in the jars. Can other students use the colored dots to play
the same tune?
• Sing these words to the tune of “Muffin Man” to practice color recognition. (Change colors for each verse.)
Who can point to something red,
Something red, something red?
Who can point to something red?
Show me something red!
Active Play
• Set out the colored bowls as targets for a beanbag tossing game. Encourage children to try to
toss beanbags into their matching colored bowls.
•Send students on a colors scavenger hunt. Have each team pick a Colors Memory Game card from a paper
bag, and encourage them to find objects of that color in the classroom or on the playground. Which color is
the easiest to find?
•Play “Simon Says” with colors. Have students stand on colored paper squares. Then, give directions such
as “Simon says, Reds and oranges, jump and down,” or “Simon says, Greens and blues, change places!”
Remind children not to follow the command unless Simon tells them to!
Art
Math
• Bring in an assortment of color chips from a paint store. Cut the colors apart, and then help students sequence different shades of one color, such as brown, from palest (beige) to deepest (mahogany).
• Encourage students to sort the pom-poms and craft sticks into their matching colored bowls. Then, count
the objects in each bowl.
• Create a simple graph to show the eye colors of your students. List eye colors across the bottom of a sheet
of chart paper. Then, have each student place a sticker above his or her eye color. Count the stickers above
each eye color. Which color is the most common?
• Set out a bin of old crayons and invite children to sort them by color.
• Use the color tablets to color water in small cups. Then, have children use the pipettes to combine droplets
of colored water on wax paper. How many drops each of blue and red do you need to make purple?
• Give groups of students small bags of colorful candies. Have them sort the candies by color, count each
group, and compare their results. Did each bag have the same color assortment? Were the totals the same?
Art
Library
Dramatic Play
• Provide community worker clothing in various colors in
your dress-up area: orange safety vests, white doctors’
coats, blue police uniforms or caps, and so on.
•D
iscuss how some colors are associated with feelings. For example,
people sometimes say they are “tickled pink,” “feeling blue,” “green
with envy,” or “seeing red.” Explain what each of these idioms
means, and prompt children to act out the emotions.
Art
Cooking
• Make play dough in several colors. For each color, mix
Qe cup cold water, Qe cup salt, Qw teaspoon vegetable oil, and
several drops of food coloring. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
Add 1 cup flour and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Knead until smooth. To
store, refrigerate in a sealed plastic bag or covered container.
•H
elp children plan, prepare, and eat a single-color lunch or snack.
For example, a yellow lunch might include macaroni & cheese with
corn and lemonade.
•R
ead Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Then, use food coloring to
dye scrambled eggs and ham green. Does the food taste different
when it is an unusual color?
•M
ake rainbow salads by arranging layers of cut fruit in clear plastic
cups. One possibility: pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, purple
grapes, blueberries, and kiwi fruit.
• Animals Brightly
Colored
by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
• Freight Train
by Donald Crews
• Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
• Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue?
by Tana Hoban
• Little Blue and Little Yellow
by Leo Lionni
• Mary Wore Her Red Dress and
Henry Wore His Green Sneakers
by Merle Peek
• Mouse Paint
by Ellen Stoll Walsh
• My Crayons Talk
by Patricia Hubbard
• Of Colors and Things
by Tana Hoban
• Planting a Rainbow
by Lois Ehlert
• Purple, Green and Yellow
by Robert Munsch