Coloring to the Next Level

Coloring can be lots of fun, therapeutic, and helps so much with fine motor skills 

especially for preschoolers.

However, how do you take coloring to the next level? How can you make it more than just coloring?

Mother Goose Time solved that mystery as we studied

 Mysteries in the Air with our Nature Detective box.

Here, let me explain....

Level One:

My teacher guide suggested that learners first sort colors into groups 6 main groups: 

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet.

We have a container of crayons, and I set out bowls and cups from her play kitchen to help her sort her crayons.  She even scribbled on white paper to determine what some colors were.

Level One complete.

Level Two:

Number all your containers 1-6.  Get a die and roll it.  Learners must pick a crayon from that container.  Not only are learners going over 1-1 correspondence as they count the dots on the die, but they are also going over number recognition, and understanding that colors have variety.

 It is super helpful to have a wide variation of colors within that color, for example there can be 

blue-violets, cerulean blue, and regular blue sorted into the Blue container.  

Level 2 complete.

Level Three:

Add Music.  Once learners have their colors in hand, play music.  We used our Nature Detectives CD but any music would suffice.  However, when the music stops, coloring must stop.  Someone new rolls the die, colors are picked, music is played and coloring continues.  The cycle game continues until the picture is complete.

Eventually, my girl asked me to join in with her.  She would give me a red, and she would pick her red.  I would turn on the music and play it until I decided to pause it.  She rolled the die again and would choose my color from the cup along with hers and we continued to color together.  This activity probably took us at least 30-45 minutes to complete from the sorting through the coloring.  She loved it.  As did I.

I was really impressed with the end result.

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