Color Your Child's World

Here are some of my favorite books to introduce and reinforce the concept of "color."  Learning colors is a great way for kids to build their vocabulary because they can not only name colors but also tend to name corresponding objects.  (For example: Grass is green).  Building the literacy skill of vocabulary is empowering because being able to describe one's world and one's desires eases the frustration that comes with wanting something and not knowing how to express it.

My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard/ Illustrated by G, Brian Karas-- A lively girl uses her crayons and her imagination to tie colors to objects she draws.

A Piece of Chalk by Jennifer A. Ericsson/ Illustrated by Michele Shapiro-- This cute book is a wonderful spring choice as a girl draws what she sees in her yard and details the chalk colors she uses as she does. It also has a sweet ending that promotes a positive outlook when the unexpected occurs.

Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek-- This nature tale's illustrations and final pop-out surprise stick in my mind as making it a memorable addition to any color curriculum.

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh-- This extremely simple introduction to primary and secondary colors is one of my favorites.  While the way the playful mice avoid the cat is witty, the demonstration of how pigments mix to form others is why I really like this selection.

Warthogs Paint by Pamela Duncan Edwards & Berry Cole-- To me, this is the slightly more advanced version of Mouse Paint.  The color mixing is very similar.  The messy mischief of the warthogs, though, will probably trigger some laughs from the preschool-set.

Duckie's Rainbow by Frances Barry-- If you read the last entry and thought, "Wow, my kid is not there yet," then this one may be your best bet.  It is a great introduction to colors for kids who don't know theirs yet. This book is a very simple illustration of colors and items that typically are those colors. The fun part is how the reader builds a rainbow with each page that he or she turns.

Infusing Scooby Doo with Literacy Lessons

My daughter loves Scooby Doo.  When I worked in Las Vegas, we had a "TV the Best Way" session in our cadre of early literacy storytimes.  Luckily, there are books based on the Scooby Doo characters.  Unfortunately, they are not great children's literature.  What's a mom to do?  Keep it interactive!  These are my ways of using these books:

1. Ask questions.  Often, these include, "How do you think _____ feels?"  and "What do you think will happen next?"  The skills I'm working on here are empathy and prediction (which are narrative skills, from an early literacy perspective-- see point #2)..
2. Vary voices.  For people who don't want to do full-on acting, a minor change in pitch or cadence can help distinguish characters.  Skill: narrative skills (building the child's ability to tell stories)
3. Once we've done a story over and over and over again, I will pause at select places.  Then, my daughter fills in the words.  Skill: vocabulary  (building the child's ability to know many words and names for things).
4. Point to the words.  As I go along in the narration, my finger goes with me.  It is simple and somewhat subversive, but my girl is learning that words in English go from left to right and that they tell the story.  Skill: print awareness.

I hope this post helps you if your children suddenly focus on nothing but Elmo, Spongebob, Barbie, Disney characters, Dora, etc.