Colors for mommy

Colors for mommy

Activities for toddlers and babies

Colors are often associated with emotions and feelings. Explore them with the activities in this theme as you celebrate mothers.

AREA SETUP

Colors everywhere
Hang colourful flowers from the ceiling. Set large circles cut out of pretty construction paper and cardboard on the floor. Decorate your walls with colourful paintings and accessories.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

An invitation for mothers
Invite mothers to arrive twenty minutes earlier one morning. The night before, bake muffins. Mothers will appreciate eating a muffin and drinking a glass of milk with their child before heading off to work.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (look, smell, and touch)

Red roses
Visit your local florist and purchase a red rose for each child. If roses are too expensive, choose a different type of flower. At lunch time, arrange the flowers in a vase and set it on the table. Encourage children to smell the roses. At the end of the day, give each child a rose. They will be happy to give their rose to their mother when she arrives.

Note: Ask your florist to collect fallen flower petals for you. He will place them in a bag in the refrigerator. Explore and manipulate the petals with your group. Make sure the flowers aren't toxic.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (touch)

Multicoloured hands
You will need a soft paintbrush and poster paint. Paint babies' and toddlers' hands. Depending on the ages of the children in your group, you can paint each finger a different color or use a single color. Help them press their painted hands on a piece of cardboard. Once their handprints are dry, arrange each child's handprints in a frame they can give to their mother as a gift.

ARTS & CRAFTS

A collective sun
Cut a large circle out of a piece of paper. Use a hula hoop to trace it. Cut out the circle, leaving a little extra paper all the way around it. Invite children to color their sun with yellow and orange markers. They may color both sides. If you wish, they can also glue feathers, fabric pieces, cardboard scraps, tissue paper, or glitter on your sun. In the centre, write: Wishing mothers a sunny day! Glue the sun on the hula hoop and hang it in your cloakroom.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

The color and feelings book
Every day, encourage children to draw, paint, or glue items on a large piece of paper using a single color. Write a brief description on each page and join the pages together to create a book. Here are a few examples:

• Yellow to brighten your day mommy!
• Blue to represent your wise and calm side mommy!
• Red to express my love for you mommy!
• Green for good luck mommy!

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Surprise puzzle
You will need a wooden puzzle. Remove the nesting pieces and cut a picture of a child's mother so it has the same shape as the puzzle's base. Stick the mother's picture in the bottom of the puzzle and set the puzzle pieces on it. When the child lifts the puzzle pieces, he will discover his mother's picture piece by piece.

Colourful moms

Whenever a child's mother arrives wearing a bright sweater, take a picture of her. You may want to warn mothers ahead of time and encourage them to wear bright colors (red, yellow, green, blue, pink) on a specific day. Print and laminate the pictures and use them to create a unique picture book. Associate each mother with her child. Name the colors you see. Variation: Purchase plastic flowers that mothers can insert in their hair or colourful hats. Ask mothers to wear these colourful accessories and photograph them. Use the pictures to create a colourful picture book.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Parade with Grandma
With your group, create multicoloured hats. You can provide strips of construction paper and let children decorate them as they wish. Encourage each child to make a second hat for his/her guest. Invite grandmothers to join you for a parade around your neighbourhood. Don't forget to wear your hats!

Chantal Millette
Early childhood educator

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