Fun color recognition activities for kids based on the color word book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? Your children will enjoy colorful crafts snacks, songs, and learning activities. Let the book come to life as you have fun with your preschooler.
Most children love color. A splash of color will always catch their attention and they love using colors in arts and crafts. This often means that color recognition is one of the skills your children will pick up quickly. Of course they are learning all kinds of cool things as they do.
- It helps create the link between visual cues and words. (An important precursor to reading)
- Builds children’s vocabulary. (Gives them helpful words for describing the world around them).
- Teaches them to notice, sort and label objects they see (an important skill in math)
- Gives them a head start academically. Most Kindergarten teachers make a point of teaching color recognition
But to be honest it is fun learning colors. There are lots of games and activities that you can enjoy with your kids. One of the easiest ways to introduce colors is to read a fun book with lots of color words. This month we will enjoy the classic book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Written by Bill Martin and illustrated by Eric Carle. The book is a delight to read and is full of fabulous colors and color words.
BROWN BEAR BROWN BEAR WHAT DO YOU SEE?
The story is very simple. A narrator asks a variety of animals what they see. Each animal responds by describing another animal by color. The book uses a repetitive question and answer format that children pick up very quickly. I appreciate this, because it means that young readers can pick up the book and “read “it independently. I would often see the preschoolers at the library proudly reading this book by themselves. Naturally we made a big fuss about the fact that they could do this. They may just be reciting it from memory. Still anything that helps a child experience success at reading is to be encouraged.
I’ve read this book many times with preschoolers. The simple story captures the interest of even the wiggliest of kids. The illustrations are done with Eric Carl’s signature collage style and are gorgeous. Each page introduces a new color. As an artist I appreciate that the colors are not always realistic. Did you ever see a blue horse in real life? It gives children permission to go wild with color.
AS YOU READ THE STORY
As you turn each page, ask your child to tell you what they see. Encourage the children to join in as you read. Pause after the words, “I see a” and let them fill in the color word. Then ask them to predict what animal will come next.
Have some fun with the text and use some different voices. The brown bear might have a deep growly voice, while the red bird could speak in a high twittering voice. Invite your child to make the animal sounds and join in. This can become a noisy storytime!
AFTER THE STORY
Play a color game based on the word pattern in the book-
Parent: (child’s name child’s name) what do you see?
Child: “I see a (name an object and it’s color) looking at me.
It is a great game to play while you are waiting or traveling in the car. Alternatively, play I spy using colors. “I spy with my little eye something that is yellow.”
Enjoy some finger plays and songs
Can You Find? (Tune: Have You Seen The Muffin Man?)
Can you find the color red?
The color red, the color red?
Can you find the color red?
And hold it in the air?
Invite your child to find something that is the color red. Repeat, naming a different color each time. Play until you run out of colors or your child looses interest.
Colors
Blue is the sky,
(point to the sky)
Yellow is the sun
(shade your eyes)
Silver are the stars,
When the day is done,
(wiggle fingers in the air)
Red is the apple,
(make circle with hands)
Green is the tree
(raise arms over head like branches)
Brown is some chocolate for you and for me!
(rub tummy)
Here are some Brown Bear Activities
Have a colorful snack
I loved this brown bear sandwich. Made with chocolate spread, and bananas. Easy and cute all at once!
A plate of colorful fruit on a kebab is also fun snack and your child can help you thread the fruit. Say the color of each fruit as you thread it on.
Enjoy Some Color Filled Activities
- Jelly Beans Color Mosaics
- Bingo Colors Printable Game
- Printable Colors Wall Activity
- Rainbow Colors Science Experiment
- Color Mixing Water Activity
- Let’s Learn Colors Printable Pack
- An Invitation To Go Wild With Color
YOUR TURN
Have you enjoyed an color activities with your child? What is your favorite so far? Leave a comment below.
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