Materials
A variety of items and objects made from natural materials obtained from
contributions, garage sales, and thrift stores (see below)
Carpet tape
Baskets
Instructions
1. Talk about colors. Hold up an item that is yellow, for example, a banana.
What color is this? Yellow. Now look at another yellow item, for example, a
dandelion. What color is this? Are they the same color? Not exactly, but a
banana is yellow and so is the dandelion.
The GIANT Encyclopedia of Preschool Activities for Four-Year-Olds
Literacy
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2. Repeat this process with a large number of items.
3. This activity will help children begin to distinguish colors. For example, the
leaves of trees are green, but they are not all the same shade of green.
Magnolia leaves are dark green (called "magnolia green"). Apple tree leaves in
the spring are light green and can be called "spring apple leaf green." Other
examples are "rock gray" and "dirty snow gray," or "fresh snow white" and
"milk white."
the names of the colors in a box of crayons. Some are simple names,
such as green, blue, and so on. Others are mixed, such as red-orange, while
others have fanciful names.
5. Compare the names of colors with each other and with those in the crayon
boxes.
More to do
Ask the children to bring in items in a particular color. For example, one day it
might be red and another day blue, and so on. Then, compare different colors of
red, blue, and so on.
Science: Combine this lesson with a science and nature lesson about colors in
nature. Discuss with the children the colors in nature that change with the times
and the seasons. For example, the leaves in spring and in fall, the sky on different
days, the clouds, and the sun.
