Children notice colours at a very young age. Parents, teachers, and caregivers can, therefore, start teaching the concept of colours by the time their little ones turn 18 months old. Babies as young as 18 months may not be able to communicate verbally but can easily point to different colours once they are introduced to them. Learning and identifying is considered a milestone in their cognitive development. Being able to distinguish colours helps build the cognitive pathways between visual cues and words. Therefore, helping children learn colours is essential at a very early age.
Enjoy this DIY colour hunt with your little ones and learn while you have heaps of fun.
What you will need:
A few recycled toilet-rolls,
A selection of spray paints in various bright colours,
Braai tongs, and
A newspaper
What you need to do:
Lay your newspaper flat, to protect the surface on which you are going to be using your spray paint.
Slot your braai tongs inside a toilet roll, so that you don’t have to paint each roll in parts, and there is a bonus that you won’t land up with spray paint all over your hands either.
Spray paint the outside of each toilet roll in different colours and stand them up on the newspaper to dry. Spray paint tends to dry very quickly.
Once you have all your toilet rolls painted and dry, you are ready to start your colour hunt.
Let your toddler choose 1x coloured toilet roll and take them on a colour hunt around your home, or out for a walk in the neighbourhood, or for a drive in the car.
Encourage them to match their coloured toilet roll to the same colour around them. You can even peek into clothing cupboards, toy bins, or even use this while you are reading a book together.
Why is this important?
This is a wonderful activity for learning the names of colours i.e. orange, green, blue, red etc.
This is also great for matching colours, getting toddlers to use their eye muscles to focus and scan their world.
It encourages creativity and exploratory play.
It is also a great way to promote eye hand coordination.
Enjoy this fun activity with your kids.
LAUREN MAYER
Franchise Owner Clamber Club Toddlers – Atlantic Seaboard
atlanticseaboard@clamberclub.com
www.clamberclub.com