QT30: Colorific Fun for Five-Year-Olds!

The first five years of a child’s life have a huge impact on their future successes and well-being. Children’s experiences during their first years help shape their life later on. What your child learns during their first years depends on what you teach them as you are their first ever teacher. These lessons don’t have to come from textbooks or calculators. There are simple quality time activities that you can share together to promote your child’s development.

The quality time you spend with your child matters. You don’t have to feel you need to carve out huge chunks of time to do this. Being spontaneous eases the burden of time. Try to spend at least 30 minutes of quality time with your kids a day. Your full attention should be on them, however. You love your kids, so show them you care by being a supportive parent. Why not try out some of the following activities that focus on teaching your child about different colors?

• Read colorful books: while reading point out the colors in the book and practice saying them out loud.
• Make color trays: take a muffin tray and in each opening place an object that is blue. For example, you could place a blue truck, a blue shoelace, a blue crayon or a blue foam ball. Let your child play with each toy as you repeat the name of the color back.
• Make a colorful snack: toddlers love to help out doing “real” jobs around the house. For colors, try a cooking project where you make a rainbow snack together. Pick out a range of healthy foods in different colors like strawberries, bananas, and oranges.
• Make a color book: staple together pages of colored construction paper to make a book. Write the name of the color on each page. Go through a magazine together finding colors that match the page, cut them out and then glue the picture on the right color page. For example, a red purse would go on the red page.

When you spend time with your child you may start to have many questions about their capabilities. You have a hotline for help! Help Me Grow is the hotline for all who take care of kids in Delaware. Worried? Dial 2-1-1 to reach Help Me Grow. A professional will answer your call. He or she will then assist you to find services and resources that fit your needs.