This activity encourages children to identify colors as they go on a color hunt to find objects.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Math
MATERIALS
- Paper lunch bags
- Markers in various colors
- Household objects in each of the colors you choose
LET'S PLAY
This activity can be played indoors or outdoors. Before beginning, tell your child that you are going on a “color hunt” together. Let your child help choose a color to search for. For example, he may have a favorite color, or you can offer several colors and allow him to choose one to hunt for. Write the name of the color on a paper bag with a marker of the same color. While your toddler will not be able to read the color words, he may begin to recognize the color.
Start with one color and search throughout the house (or yard/outdoor area) for any items of that color. Once you have collected four or five items, return to the starting point and pull the objects out. Name each item with your child, for example, “red car,” “red ball,” “red bear,” or “red lollipop” as they are taken out of the bag. Then count how many objects you found together.
Once one color has been collected, play again using a different color if your child seems interested in continuing the play. End by congratulating your child on being such a good color hunter!
TIPS
- Two-year-olds are just learning to identify colors, so you will need to provide lots of assistance. Remember also that there are different shades of colors, so toddlers need lots of experience to understand that, for example, light blue and dark blue are both in the “blue” category.
- This game works outdoors as well, where your child can search for colors in nature or around the neighborhood.
- If desired, your child can be given magnifying lenses or homemade binoculars (made of two toilet paper rolls) to help with the “hunt.”
- Try using a tablet or digital camera to take a picture of each object that you find, and then print them out to make a book about your color hunt.