ROY G. BIV

By Haven Mitchell-Rose 

Color is one of the very first ways in which children learn how to interact with their surroundings. Not only does it help them to form connections between the things in their world, but an understanding of color allows them to communicate with you about what they are experiencing, both literally and in the abstract through emotional association. This week in our Storytime classes, we explored color through playing with scarves and making color collages. Now you and your little one can bring some color into your home with these activities! 

Peek-a-BLUE! 

We've all played the classic game of peek-a-boo to bring a smile to a little one's face - I challenge you to find me a parent who hasn't used it at one point or another. Now you and your child can bring this time honored activity from black and white to technicolor! This activity is great for infants and toddlers.  

Materials:
Pieces of colored fabric (napkins, articles of clothing, washcloths, etc.) 

Step 1: Present your child with the selection of colored fabric you have assembled, and see which one they gravitate toward. 
Step 2: Select the cloth that your child chose, and cover your face with it.
Step 3: Quickly pull the cloth away from your face and say, "Peek-a-boo!" but replace the "boo" with the color of the cloth you are holding. Ex: "Peek-a-red!" or "Peek-a-purple!" 

Red Light, Green Light, Yellow Light, Pink Light

Here's another colorful twist on an old classic. This adaptation of "Red Light, Green Light" is great for slightly older children who are more mobile, and developmentally able to make connections between color and emotion. 

Materials: 
Colored pieces of construction paper OR blank paper and colored crayons/ pencils/ markers (all optional)

Step 1: If you and your child would like to have a visual representation of the colors used in this game, this is when you can use construction paper and markers to make them 
Step 2: Clear away furniture to create an open space, and stand at one end of the room with your child at the opposite end. 
Step 3: Explain that when you call out and/or show your child a color, they must move toward you in whatever way that color makes them feel. Ex: If the color is red, they might stomp their feet and cross their arms as they move toward you to show anger. Tell them that when you want them to stop you will call out, "Freeze!" at which point they should stay in place until you call the next color. 
*Challenge: If you have two or more little ones, you can make it a race! Whoever gets to you first gets to call out the colors for the next round. If there is only one child, when they get to you, you can swap places so that they get a chance to call out colors too. 

Don't forget to share pictures of your colorful fun to our Facebook Page with the hashtag #colormespellbound

Circus Themed Storytime Class at PowerHouse Books, this past Monday at 4:30pm. For a complete list of class times and locations visit www.spellboundtheatre.com