Blue Theme Day

Toddler and Pre-School Theme Days

Blue Day

Having colour theme days is a great way to introduce/teach/reinforce the colours to your toddler.

When my youngest son was 2 ½ he showed no interest in learning his colours. We read him a few books about colours and used his colour sorting toys but he still mixed them up. Once we started these theme days he caught on quickly and started to proudly exclaim what colours he was wearing or what colours were on his toys without prompting. He even named what Colour Day he wanted to do next.

My eldest son was a little jealous about his little brother getting special theme days so we started to wait until he got home from school to do the colour hunts.

Print out the Family Theme Day Planner and decide which activities you’d like to do.

PREPARATION:

Go through your crayons, markers, paints and construction/craft paper and remove all the blue ones to use for this theme.

Set aside any blue dishes (cups, plates, bowls, plastic spoons etc.) you may have that are blue and use these for breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner.

Set aside blue clothes for your child to wear that day (and yourself, too, if you’d like).

SONGS:

Download from your favourite music provider the old tune “Blue Moon” (a little Elvis is always fun) and do some slow dancing around the living room.

Even if it isn’t Christmas you can always dig out your Christmas CD’s and use the classic “Blue Christmas” (of course Elvis’ is great but there are other versions).

RHYMES:

Go through your child’s nursery rhyme book to find “Little Boy Blue” or go online to http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/nursery_rhymes/little_boy_blue.htm for the historical origin.

Sit on the floor with your child and have your child repeat the words and actions:

Little Boy Blue (point to your shirt)

Come blow your horn (hands to lip to make a horn and make a sound)

The sheep’s in the meadow (“Baaaaa” like a sheep and hide a fist behind your back)

The cow’s in the corn (“Moooo” like a cow and hide the other fist behind your back)

But where is the boy who looks after the sheep? (hold hand to eyes and search)

He’s under a haystack fast asleep (fold hands and put your head on them as if sleeping)

Will you wake him? (Point)

No, not I (shake your head “no”)

For if I do he’s sure to cry (rub eyes like you are crying)

SCRAPBOOK ACTIVITIES:

COLORING PAGES:

Go online to your favourite search engine and write “blue coloring pages” to find free pages of blue things or favourite blue characters or print out my Blue Things Colouring Page. Give your child blue crayons and blue markers to colour.

CRAFTS:

BLUE COLLAGE:

Materials: Blue paper (preferably 2 shades of blue), old magazines, child-safe scissors, washable glue stick, damp facecloth for sticky fingers.

· Step 1: Help your child cut out funny shapes with the dark blue paper.

· Step 2: Show your child how to glue the bits of dark blue paper to a sheet of light blue paper and then let him/her glue the pieces of paper on the larger sheet however he/she likes.

· Step 3: Look through old magazines with your child and have him/her point out anything blue he/she sees.

· Step 4: Help your child cut out the blue pictures from the magazine to make a pile of blue pictures.

· Step 5: Show your child how to glue the pictures onto the collage and then let him/her glue the pictures on the paper however he/she likes.

· Step 6: When the collage is dry display (fridge, bulletin board, child’s door) or glue into Family Theme Scrapbook.

BLUE BOOKLET:

Materials: Blue crayons and markers, sheet of blue paper, child-safe scissors, glue stick, stapler, magazine pictures of blue things or my Blue Things Colouring Page, a facecloth for sticky fingers.

· Step 1: Sit with your child as you sort through magazine for blue things, or as your child colours each object on the colouring page blue, or as your child draws his/her own blue things for the booklet (six in total).

· Step 2: Help your child cut out the individual pictures.

· Step 3: Fold the sheet of blue paper into three parts (as if you were going to put it in an envelope) and cut along the folds to make three blue rectangles.

· Step 4: Fold each of these three blue pieces of paper in half and cut along the fold to make six small sheets of paper.

· Step 5: Have your child apply glue to each blue picture and glue each one to a small sheet of blue paper.

· Step 3: Help your child staple the sheets together to make a little booklet.

· Step 4: Read the book together to review the colour blue.

PAINTING:

Paint with blue paint (set out newspaper or a plastic sheet before hand and don’t forget to wear old shirts or art smocks).

BOOKS:

Search through your child’s books to find any that teach the colours and flip to the blue pages

Go to the library before hand to find some colour books. Many libraries allow you to go online and search for titles based on subject (type in “Blue” or “Colours” under Children’s Books). Reserve them if you can to save time.

Try these titles:

· Dog Blue, by Polly Dunbar, Candlewick Press, 2004 – This book stars Bertie, a little boy who likes blue and who longs for a blue dog.

· Blue Goose, by Nancy Tafuri, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2008 – When Farmer Grey goes out for the day, four colourful animals, including Blue Goose, paint the grey farm with bright colours.

· The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments, story and pictures by Arnold Lobel, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1968 – A longer story about a wizard who invents the primary colours one at a time to turn their grey world bright.

FOOD:

SNACKS:

Blue yogurt:

Ingredients: vanilla yogurt and blue food colouring

Step 1: Help your child scoop white yogurt into a bowl (preferably a blue bowl if you have one).

Step 2: Put 1 or 2 drops of blue food colouring into the yogurt (adult to do this step).

Step 3: Have your child stir the blue drops of colouring into the yogurt with a spoon.

Fresh blueberries or dried Blueberries (perfect for the middle of winter) make a sweet blue snack.

DESSERT:

Blue Jello - Make this in the morning so it will be ready for dessert at dinnertime.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

BLUE HUNT:

Materials: Blue squares of paper in a sandwich bag (optional), blue crayon, blue marker, glue stick, damp facecloth for sticky fingers, print out the List of Blue Things worksheet.

· Step 1: Explain to your child that you are on a hunt for the colour blue.

· Step 2: Walk around the house and/ or outside to look for blue things.

· Step 3: When your child finds something blue you will write the name of the object etc. on a slip of blue paper (or directly on the chart) and your child will glue the blue square on the sheet (or colour the square with a blue crayon).

· Step 4: At the end of the hunt sit down and count out loud together how many blue things were found. Review what you found by reading the chart out loud.

TOYS:

Coloured Blocks: With your child, sort through toy blocks to find only the blue blocks. Together make towers with the blue blocks.

Search through your child’s toys to find any that are blue to play with.

Play with blue play dough or modelling clay.

GAMES:

Play “I Spy With My Little Eye” looking for only blue things.

SCIENCE:

Food Colouring:

Put a few drops of blue food coloring (liquid) in a jar of water – let your child stir and watch as the water turns blue.

If you have a white carnation put it in the blue water and leave if for a few days. The edges will turn blue.

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES:

AUDIO VISUAL:

Search through your child’s DVD/ video collection (or visit your local library before hand or the Video Store) to find shows with blue characters like Cookie Monster, Thomas the Tank Engine, Blue’s Clues, Bear in the Big Blue House, Smurfs or any with the theme of teaching colours.

Try this title for a perfect toddler show that highlights many colours:

· Baby Einstein: Baby Van Gogh – World of Colour