Reading Gets You Ready: Colors

Are you looking for ways to help your child practice school readiness skills at home to prepare for kindergarten? When beginning kindergarten, a child needs to have some basic knowledge of certain concepts. It sounds complicated, but you’ll be surprised by how many of these things you’re already doing with your child.

Colors and shapes are both important concepts for young children to learn. And they're fun, too! Let's explore colors through books and activities.

Books

With its repetitive text and classic illustrations, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is the perfect book to enjoy the different colored animals.

In I Love My White Shoes, will Pete be able to keep his brand-new shoes white as he encounters things like strawberries and blueberries along his walk? With every item he encounters, you’ll practice colors in a groovy way.

When Farmer Gray is away, Blue Goose, Red Hen, Yellow Chick and White Duck decide it’s time to paint the barnyard. What happens when Blue Goose and Red Hen decide to mix blue and red paint together? This is a great read to introduce color mixing.

Join the fun as you Mix It Up! Every interactive page will provide tons of color-mixing fun!

Do you have a favorite crayon when drawing or coloring? Have you ever thought how that makes the others crayons feel? Well, in The Day the Crayons Quit, you’ll hear the crayons’ point of view.

Find more books about color on our Simple Concepts booklist or find over a hundred great books to prepare your preschooler for kindergarten with our Reading Gets You Ready booklists.

Activities

• Sensory play is extremely fun, especially when using shaved crayons and clear shampoo. Follow the instructions to create your own The Day the Crayons Quit Crayon sensory art in a plastic bag.
• Let your little ones swirl and mix the different colors in this fun with paint activity, also using a plastic bag. Add in other items like a toy car or a block to see the different effects they can create.
• Create your own color-mixing gel bags that can be used again and again. Start off with just primary colors and let the children discover the other colors they can create by layering the bags.
• If you’re looking for an activity for a slightly older child, try The Day the Crayons Quit writing activity. You can explore letter writing and feelings just like the crayons do in the book.