Exploring orange
Activities for toddlers and babies
AREA SETUP
Hang orange balloons in a specific area within your daycare (see cognitive activity). Display Jello-O paintings on your wall (see arts & crafts). Deposit a container filled with orange toys and objects on the floor, in the centre of your daycare.
ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS
Make snack time and lunch time interesting
Serve a variety of orange food items throughout the week. Depending on the ages of the children in your group, you may offer:
- Orange juice
- Oranges
- Orange pasta
- Peaches
- Carrots
- Cantaloupe
- Orange cheddar cheese
- Butternut squash soup
- Orange cauliflower
- Orange fruit purées (apple and peach for example)
- Orange popsicles
- Orange lentils
- A drop of orange food coloring in a glass of milk or rice cereal
- A special surprise: an orange candy piece or a bowl filled with candy pieces of different colors and children are encouraged to eat the orange ones first.
SENSORY ACTIVITIES (touch and look)
The secret box
You will need a large box with a lid. On the sides of the box, cut out holes large enough for babies and toddlers to be able to slide their hands inside to remove objects. Deposit a variety of orange objects with different textures inside the box. For example, you may offer feathers, balls, modeling dough, an orange, fabric pieces, a stuffed animal, a rattle, etc. Let babies and toddlers pull the objects out of the box. Encourage them to manipulate the different items.
SENSORY ACTIVITIES (touch)
Textured modeling dough
Add a small quantity of dry couscous to orange modeling dough. Mix well. With supervision, let babies and toddlers explore this new granular texture.
SENSORY ACTIVITIES (taste)
Miniature cupcakes
Bake miniature cupcakes and set them in the freezer. This will make it easier for little ones to spread icing on them. Give toddlers tiny spatulas or plastic knives. Let them spread orange icing on the cupcakes. Let them add orange candy pieces or sprinkles on top too. The goal here is not to create beautifully decorated cupcakes, but to offer children an interesting manipulation activity. As soon as the cupcakes are completely thawed, enjoy them as a snack.
ARTS & CRAFTS
Surprising modeling dough
Use orange modeling dough. Spread the modeling dough out on the table and pour a small quantity of orange poster paint in the centre. Gently wrap the poster paint with the modeling dough, forming a ball. Sit babies and toddlers at the table and give them each a sheet of paper and an apron or paint shirt. Let them manipulate the ball of dough. They will be surprised to discover the paint in the centre of the ball.
Paper manipulation
Encourage babies and toddlers to manipulate orange paper. The goal of this activity is for little ones to admire, touch, tear, and crumple different textures. No glue is needed for this activity. Paper, cardboard, corrugated paperboard, and tissue paper are all you need. Try to offer different shades of orange. Variation: Add plastic containers. Children will enjoy filling them with pieces of orange paper.
Jell-O paint
Mix orange Jell-O powder with a small quantity of water to create a granular texture. Let babies and toddlers touch, smell, and (depending on their age) taste the mixture that will quickly become a versatile paint that can easily be used on waxed paper.
MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Orange socks
Instead of asking parents to have their child wear an orange sweater, invite them to put orange socks on his/her feet. Remove children's shoes and encourage them to look at their feet. Seeing so many orange feet will be very amusing for everyone. Orange socks are easy to find at the dollar store in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES
Swaying balloons (exploring and noticing where objects are)
Blow up several orange balloons and hang them from the ceiling. You can arrange them in a specific area of your daycare, above your reading corner for example. During the week, move the balloons to another area, such as above children's highchairs. Observe children and try to attract their attention to the fact that the balloons are no longer in the same place. Continue to move the balloons throughout the week (hallway, under a tree in your yard, etc.).
Color combinations
Present small experiments adapted for babies and toddlers in order to show them how red food coloring and yellow food coloring can be mixed together to create orange. Here are a few ideas (keep bottles of food coloring away from little hands):
- Sit in front of your group. Add a drop of red food coloring and a drop of yellow food coloring to bottles of water that are ¾ full. Secure the caps and let babies and toddlers shake the bottles to see the water turn orange.
- With babies and toddlers, deposit towels on a table or on the floor. Sit with your group. Deposit a large container on the towels and pour lukewarm water in it. Add drops of red and yellow food coloring. Give children whisks they can use to stir the water until it is orange. For this activity, you may want to remove babies' clothing since they will most certainly get very wet. Be sure to have extra towels nearby to pat little ones dry at the end of the activity.
- Pour a small amount of red paint and a small amount of yellow paint on a sheet of paper and let children mix them together.
- Apply a small amount of red paint on each child's hand or finger. On the other hand or another finger, apply a small amount of yellow paint. Show babies and toddlers how they can mix the two colors by rubbing their hands or fingers together to make them orange.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS
Helium balloons
Purchase helium-filled balloons. Tie a ribbon to each balloon and use the ribbon to tie a balloon to each child's ankle or wrist (make a bow so the ribbon can easily be removed). This activity is perfectly suited to diaper changes. Simply tie the ribbon to their wrist or ankle and encourage them to move their arm or leg. Toddlers can be encouraged to lie on their back and pedal as if they were on a bicycle. You can also invite children to dance to the sound of fast-paced music or run outside with their balloon tied to their arm or leg.
Confetti
This activity is interesting for toddlers (supervision required). You will need confetti. Make your own orange confetti using a hole-punch and orange paper. If you wish, add feathers and glitter to your confetti. Deposit a small quantity of confetti in each child's hand. Dance with your group. When you give the signal, children throw the confetti up in the air. They will want to start over again and again.
LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES
Orange makeup
To help children discover the names of their various body parts, draw a small orange dot or tiny orange heart on one body part at a time: hand, foot, stomach, etc. If you prefer, draw an orange dot on your own nose. Point to each body part once you have drawn the dot/heart and name them with babies and toddlers.
Chantal Millette
Early childhood educator
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