I expected color week to be one of the easier weeks to plan - but it turned out to be really challenging. The sheer number of activities to choose from combined with the fact that my son is not understanding the concept of colors quite yet made it difficult to put together a plan for cohesive activities that he would actually learn something from (which was my hope). Instead, I settled for activities that I thought would be fun and engaging and would give us the opportunity to talk about colors more than we usually do. Read more below to see which activities did for color week.
Rainbow Rice - Sensory Bottles and BIN
I've been thinking about making rainbow sensory bottles for a long time, but I've never gotten around to it. There were a lot of options out there, and I really liked them all. I saw ideas for collecting items of each color around the house and adding them to a bottle and ideas of playing with texture, density, and sounds to make interesting and colorful bottles (such as dying oil and water and watching them emulsify). I decided to save both ideas for another time.
Ultimately, I settled on creating rainbow rice and using it for two purposes this week - the rainbow sensory bottles I'd be thinking so much about and a sensory bin. Both were a HUGE hit.
First, to create the rainbow rice, I added 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar and 8 drops of food coloring to one cup of raw white rice. I did this six times to create red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. I then laid the rice out on parchment paper and let it sit overnight to dry.
Ultimately, I settled on creating rainbow rice and using it for two purposes this week - the rainbow sensory bottles I'd be thinking so much about and a sensory bin. Both were a HUGE hit.
First, to create the rainbow rice, I added 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar and 8 drops of food coloring to one cup of raw white rice. I did this six times to create red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. I then laid the rice out on parchment paper and let it sit overnight to dry.
Next, I used each color of rice to create sensory bottles. I used some old Medela bottles that we had lying around and filled each one with one color of rice. I was originally going to stop there when I remembered that I had a bag of assorted beads just waiting for a good use. Since they are too small to play with, they were perfect for this activity, where my toddler would only be able to admire them from a distance! I picked out a handful of beads in each color (attempting to find interesting shapes and finishes (shiny, translucent, etc) and added them to the rice to create a fun discovery bottle.
As previously stated, these were a big hit! There was one point last week where my 18 month old sat and just shook them, stacked them, and turned them to look at the beads for a solid 20 minutes. As mentioned in my post on songs and books about color week, these were also a great addition to our color songs as both a musical instrument and visual aid. We now keep them around as a regular "toy" and frequently throw them in his diaper bag for on-the-go entertainment.
But the joys of our rainbow rice didn't stop there! I combined what was left of the rice after filling the bottles (which was a pretty good amount) to created a colorful sensory bin. This was a simple bin, all I added was the rice and some bottles, bowls and a small shovel to scoop, fill and spill with. But just like the rainbow bottles, I was shocked to find that it kept my toddler occupied for 20 minutes straight the first time he played with it. And he continued to love it throughout the week. We did keep this outside, and it was probably a good decision. He quickly learned that the rice made a fun sound when it landed on the picnic table. Any project that gives multiple uses, only requires common household products, and keeps a toddler occupied for 20 minute chunks multiple times is a win in my book!
But the joys of our rainbow rice didn't stop there! I combined what was left of the rice after filling the bottles (which was a pretty good amount) to created a colorful sensory bin. This was a simple bin, all I added was the rice and some bottles, bowls and a small shovel to scoop, fill and spill with. But just like the rainbow bottles, I was shocked to find that it kept my toddler occupied for 20 minutes straight the first time he played with it. And he continued to love it throughout the week. We did keep this outside, and it was probably a good decision. He quickly learned that the rice made a fun sound when it landed on the picnic table. Any project that gives multiple uses, only requires common household products, and keeps a toddler occupied for 20 minute chunks multiple times is a win in my book!
Bathtub Painting
T has never used paintbrushes before, but I had some projects in mind for the following week that would involve using one. I thought the best place to find out how well he does with one was in the bathtub!
I made some bathtub paints using the recipe found at Kojo Designs. I made ours with bubble bath. I laid down an old towel on the floor in preparation for spillover of the mess from the bathtub and put T in the tub with the paint, some brushes, and let him go to town. He had a blast.
I made some bathtub paints using the recipe found at Kojo Designs. I made ours with bubble bath. I laid down an old towel on the floor in preparation for spillover of the mess from the bathtub and put T in the tub with the paint, some brushes, and let him go to town. He had a blast.
The best part for me was that it was easy to clean up! I took T out of the tub and plopped him on the old towel I'd already laid down, turned on the water and washed the "paint" down the drain, then filled up the tub and washed him off with his normal bedtime bath. Easy peasy.
Colorful Toys
We own quite a few "colorful" toys. I made a special effort this week to break them out and play with them in novel ways that highlighted the different colors. We played with Mega Bloks, foam blocks, and plastic fruit and vegetables. Ball pit balls would also be a great option, but we don't have any of those. I sorted them into piles, naming each color. My toddler put them into containers (and pulled them back out) as I named each color. With the blocks, we stacked or built with one color at a time, making towers that were entirely one color.