Seedlings: Color Matching
Toddlers have a natural desire to make sense of their world and are attracted to activities like matching. By practicing matching a child gains an understanding that objects that are alike can be placed into groups. Color matching has been an activity that children have enjoyed in the Seedlings class room since the first month of school. This activity promotes visual awareness and also provides children with the opportunity to practice language. While presenting new works at first circles, children are starting to call out the names of colors.“If you know, can you help me name this color?” a teacher may ask the group. Children call out the colors that they recognize and are practicing language at this moment.
We are at a stage of the yea[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style='position:absolute; margin-left:17pt;margin-top:164pt;width:179pt;height:175pt;z-index:251656704; mso-wrap-distance-left:12pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:12pt; mso-wrap-distance-right:12pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:12pt; mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:page; mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:page' coordsize="21600,21600" wrapcoords="633 0 633 21136 21600 21136 21600 0 633 0" strokeweight="1pt"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\PINEGC~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" o:title="" croptop="1206f" cropbottom="-1206f" cropleft="-2617f" cropright="4159f"></v:imagedata> <w:wrap type="through" anchorx="page" anchory="page"></w:wrap> </v:shape><![endif][if !vml][endif]r when some of children in the group seem to enjoy an added challenge. Earlier in the year we showed matching with the three primary colors. Now many children are ready to match secondary colors. In the Sensorial area we have tiny boxes with colored pairs of animals for the children to match and sort. Working with a teacher children can match colored word labels to the color tablets. In the language area children can use a story retelling activity to match food to colored felt circles and work with “Pete the Cat.” Some of these activities allow a child to use an integration of skills. The lock boxes allow a child to match shape and color while integrating fine motor control to open and close different latches. The Seedlings have been enjoying matching colors throughout the classroom.
