Pink Pre-school Theme Day

Toddler and Pre-school Theme Days

Pink 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 Pink ones to use for this theme.

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

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

SONG:

I couldn’t think of any children’s songs but for fun you could download and dance to a version of the song “Pink Cadillac”.

SCRAPBOOK ACTIVITIES:

COLOURING PAGES:

Go online to your favourite search engine to find colouring pages of pink things or favourite pink characters or my Pink Things Colouring Page. Use pink crayons and pink markers to colour.

CRAFTS:

PINK COLLAGE:

Materials: Pink paper, old magazines, child– safe scissors, washable glue stick, damp facecloth for sticky fingers.

· Step 1: Look through old magazines with your child and have him/her point out anything pink he/she sees.

· Step 2: Help your child cut out the pink pictures from the magazine to make a pile of pink pictures.

· Step 3: Show your child how to glue the pictures onto the pink sheet of paper to make a collage and then let him/her glue the pictures on the paper however he/she likes.

· Step 4: When the collage is dry display (fridge, bulletin board, child’s door) or glue into Family Theme Scrapbook.

PINK BOOKLET:

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

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

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

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

· Step 4: Fold each of these three pink 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 pink picture and glue each on to a small sheet of pink paper.

· Step 6: Help your child staple the sheets together to make a little booklet.

· Step 7: Read the book together to review the colour pink.

PAINTING:

Paint with pink paint or make your own by mixing white and red paint together (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 Pink 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 “Pink” or “Colors” and Children’s Books). Reserve them if you can to save time.

Try some of these titles if you can find them:

· Pinakalicious, by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann and illustrated by Victoria Kann, HARPER Collins Publishers, 2006 – A funny story of a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink!

· Double Pink, by Kate Feiffer and illustrated by Bruce Ingman, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005 – The story of a girl obsessed with the colour pink so much she paints herself pink and disappears in her room.

· The Pink Refrigerator, by Tim Egan, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007 – I love Egan’s illustrations and the story of Dodsworth, who doesn’t do much with his days until he finds the pink refrigerator with its mysterious notes and is inspired to try more.

· Pink Pigs Aplenty, by Sandy Nightingale, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1992 – A counting book about pigs in a circus.

FOOD:

SNACKS:

Pink grapefruit is a fruity pink snack (although your child may not like the taste as mine don’t).

Strawberry or raspberry yogurt is perfect pink snack.

Drink some pink strawberry milk (found in small bottles in the dairy section or buy the mix to make your own) or some pink grapefruit juice.

Pink Smoothie:

Ingredients: a handful of frozen raspberries or strawberries, a ripe banana, 1 cup of vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup milk, a splash of red juice (pomegranate or cranberry).

Step 1: Put all ingredients in a blender and blend.

Step 2: Enjoy!

LUNCH:

Make a simple salmon or ham spread for crackers or bread by mixing tinned flaked salmon or flaked ham with mayonnaise (add some lemon juice in the salmon one or some relish in the ham one).

DINNER:

If your child likes fish then a pink salmon dinner is perfect for Pink Day!

DESSERTS:

Make some Strawberry Mousse - use a package and follow directions on the box.

Strawberry ice-cream or sorbet is a quick no-prep pink dessert or enjoy some pink popsicles.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

PINK HUNT:

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

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

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

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

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

TOYS:

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

Play with Pink play dough or modelling clay.

GAMES:

Play “I Spy with My Little Eye” searching for only pink things.

SCIENCE:

Mixing Paint:

Show your child how pink can be magically made by mixing red and white paint and then have fun painting together (don’t forget to set out newspaper or a plastic sheet before hand and to wear old clothes or smocks).

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 Pink characters like Zoe from Sesame Street or Uniqua from Backyardigans or any shows 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