Spring is a wonderful time when the world explodes with life and colors again! Here are some activities you can do with your kiddos to get them to start talking about colors.
Sensory Activities
Calming Bottle:
Materials – Plastic water bottle, preferably with smooth sides.
Remove label and clean. Fill with warm water and an entire bottle of glitter glue. Shake until glue mixes with water. Add vial of ultra-fine glitter. Color with food coloring. More clear gel glue can be added to make the glitter settle more slowly. Glue the lid on with superglue. Use this activity when your child needs to calm themselves. They shake the bottle then as the glitter slowly settles to the bottom of the bottle, your child may also be able to settle down. This can be effective as a timer during Time Out.
Sensory Balloons:
Materials – Sturdy balloons of different colors and various materials to stuff into the balloons: dry rice, sand, warm water, dry macaroni, play dough, oatmeal.
Use a large funnel to help with filling. Tie the balloon closed after filling it. Squeezing the filled balloons can be relaxing or exploratory and provide a hand strengthening activity also. Supervise your child while they play with the balloons to prevent them from biting into the balloon.
Shaker Eggs:
Materials- Clear plastic fillable eggs, colored electrical or duct tape to seal the eggs and material to fill the eggs. This could include: sand, rice, beads, buttons, coins, paper clips, etc.
By using a variety of materials, your child can listen to the differences the eggs make when shaken and feel the weight of the eggs. Now you’re ready to “shake your sillies out” to the music of your favorite silly song (see page 4 for suggestions). The eggs can also be used in family games such as ‘Hide the Egg’ then you and your child can take turns hiding and hunting for the eggs, collecting them in a bucket or bag. They can be counted or sorted by color, weight or filling material. Try using solid colored eggs and try to guess what is inside by the sound! Very egg-citing!
Arts & Crafts
Rock Bugs:
Materials- smooth rocks, paint, paint brush or q-tip.
Wash rocks and dry them. Cover the table or floor with newspaper. Acrylic paints or water-based paint will work. Use a paint brush or Q-Tip to paint your bug. Set the rocks on clean newspaper or wax paper to dry. A black marker or black paint can be used to add bug features when the bugs are dry.
Rainbow Pasta Jewelry:
Materials: Uncooked pasta, rubbing alcohol, food coloring, bowl, spoon, string.
Uncooked pasta can be tinted in the same way as rice. Choose pasta in any shape with a hole through it so your children can string it into a necklace. Add a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol with food coloring and stir in the dry pasta until it is covered. You’ll also need to let the pasta dry before using it. Teach the kids the order of the colors in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Have them thread the tinted pasta onto strings in that order to represent the rainbow. Tie the ends of the string to create a necklace, or use small pasta shapes to make bracelets or anklets. Alternate activity: glue to cardboard.
Colorful Rain:
Materials: white paper, colored paper, cotton balls, glue stick or school glue.
Let your child tear colored paper into strips. Cut a cloud shape out of white paper. Help your child glue the strips of paper to the cloud. Add more glue on top and attach the clouds made of cotton balls. Suspend with a string or tape to the window.
Snack Time
Rainbow Jell-O:
Here is a fun snack for a large group. Make a variety of Jell-Os in different rainbow colors. In a clear glass, layer the different colors of Jell-O.
Rainbow Fruit Salad:
Make a rainbow fruit salad for your child. Add red and blue berries, small cantaloupe pieces, banana slices, green and purple grapes (cut in two).
Spring Mud:
Chocolate pudding with gummy worms peeking out of the mud. Try adding crumbled cookies on top for extra texture and crunch.