For a fun time, put paint chip cards of different colors on a binder ring, and punch a large hole in each shade. Go outside and try to match all the colors!!
Clara is always up for any excuse to go outside, so this activity was an instant hit! We brought our swatches to a nearby park for some coloring matching fun!!
There was lots of running — great exercise!!
…and excitement when colors were matched!
Some colors may be harder to find than others. I’m lookin’ at you, Orange!
So many different hues were found!
You may even notice little things like the different shades of green on each side of the same leaf, or….
….that larger dandelions are a shade darker than little ones.
And when you’re all done, why not take a break on a park bench to rest for awhile??
Have fun!!
I linked this post to:
Sunday Showcase @ Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Link and Learn @ No Time for Flash Cards
May 9th, 2011 on 1:10 pm
Awesome idea! And I have some spare paint chips laying around
May 9th, 2011 on 1:12 pm
That is a fantastic idea!
May 9th, 2011 on 1:17 pm
What a fantastic idea! I will totally be doing this with my own kids, but it may have to become a moms group activity as well!
May 9th, 2011 on 1:22 pm
Clara, just watching you wears me out… :0)
May 9th, 2011 on 1:24 pm
Love this!! Thinking I need to make a pit stop at home depot on the way to dance class tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
May 9th, 2011 on 1:27 pm
I LOVE this too! So simple and what a great variation of a scavenger hunt!
May 9th, 2011 on 1:27 pm
Great idea, Maddie will love this! Now I need to stop by Lowe’s!
May 9th, 2011 on 1:55 pm
Love this idea!!! Thanks for sharing
May 9th, 2011 on 2:08 pm
Love it! Sharing on fb and twitter!
May 9th, 2011 on 2:20 pm
This is one of our favorite ideas for turning a routine walk around the neighborhood into a nature scavenger hunt. Love the idea of punching out holes in the color blocks. I’ve got to try that!
May 9th, 2011 on 2:59 pm
I think it’s pretty neat to be able to distinguish close shades. I so need to stop by Home Depot
May 9th, 2011 on 3:26 pm
You are so creative. Valerie!!! We’ll try this for sure.
May 9th, 2011 on 3:40 pm
Brilliant! I’m going to go to Lowes and pick some up
so I can do this with my son this weekend!
May 9th, 2011 on 4:09 pm
How FUN! I have a mild obsession with paint chips! I pick some up every single time we are there and…um, I have a lot. Sooo, that just means I can make 3 of them…one for each kiddo! Knew there was a reason I had so many! Thanks for the great idea! We’ll be doing this one for sure!
May 9th, 2011 on 4:41 pm
Dear Valerie,
I’m pretty sure that every color on those chips can be matched on Clara’s shirt.
Love,
Mark
May 9th, 2011 on 4:52 pm
What a fantastic idea! I love how this opens the conversation about shades of color.
May 9th, 2011 on 4:59 pm
Fabulous idea! Paint chips are so fun! When I see them it is like walking into a candy store at Home Depot!
May 9th, 2011 on 5:29 pm
Great, great activity!
May 9th, 2011 on 6:56 pm
I really really love this activity idea. I always feel so guilty taking paint chips from the store though! Do you just take a few each time, or do you take a whole bunch? Do they care?
May 9th, 2011 on 7:43 pm
What a cute idea!! I would love to make one for my daughter. I have a small heart punch just like that too
Where do you get binder clips? like a craft store maybe, hobby lobby? I will have to check
May 9th, 2011 on 10:14 pm
What a fun activity! Love it
May 10th, 2011 on 6:23 am
This is a brilliant idea Valerie, I just bought a love heart punch as well. So cool!
May 10th, 2011 on 7:50 am
Valerie, I was just thinking about doing this with MOPS! I did it with Logan last year, and he loved it! I like the ring idea, I just had the different cards seperate. Thanks!
May 10th, 2011 on 10:26 am
LOVE this idea!
May 10th, 2011 on 1:04 pm
What a creative idea! I will share this one with my friends!
May 10th, 2011 on 2:19 pm
This is a BRILLIANT idea!!!
May 10th, 2011 on 9:46 pm
Terrific idea and so well executed!
May 10th, 2011 on 9:59 pm
Just shared on facebook!
May 10th, 2011 on 10:26 pm
What a great open ended activity. I pinned this to my board at http://pinterest.com/pin/21195433/
May 11th, 2011 on 1:38 am
Brillant! The perfect preschooler craft!
Blessings,
Val
May 11th, 2011 on 7:16 am
SO simple and yet SO awesome! R will love this!
May 11th, 2011 on 9:53 am
What a fun idea and super creative. We have so many paint chips laying around for our house remodeling project. I’m glad I didn’t throw them in the recycling bin yet.
Sue Kirchner
ChocolateCakeMoments.com – Simple & Creative Ideas for More Family Fun!
May 12th, 2011 on 9:13 am
Wow, you are amazing! How do you think of so many ideas!?
This is a great one. Perfect for having some in your bag when you’re out and about and the kids get twitchy.
May 12th, 2011 on 11:37 pm
I LOVE this idea! Thanks so much for sharing!
May 13th, 2011 on 5:00 pm
This one’s going on my weekend reads! Love the use of paint chips to learn not just color names, but color values and intensity and visual perception. Awesome idea!
May 15th, 2011 on 2:45 pm
I can’t wait to do this with my kids. I see a pen in her hand – did she write down what she found that matched?
May 15th, 2011 on 2:51 pm
I was writing down what matched, but she must have gotten hold of the pen at some point. It’s kind of neat to have the colors documented this way — have fun!!
May 15th, 2011 on 4:20 pm
I love this idea…I am going to head out today and get some swatches together to make these for the girls!!!
May 16th, 2011 on 2:17 pm
This is awesome!!! I’m off to share with my facebook friends.
I would love for you to stop by my blog and share this at my For the Kids link party! Stop by and join in on the fun!!!
http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/05/for-kids-friday-9.html
May 18th, 2011 on 8:46 am
I love this. It’s a great cheap way to have fun outside with the kids. I am going to try it.
May 18th, 2011 on 11:40 am
What a great idea! I will definitely be doing this with my kids! Cheers!
May 18th, 2011 on 12:27 pm
LOVE this. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
May 18th, 2011 on 9:47 pm
What a fun idea – love that she was having such a great time exploring! I’m sure it opened her up to so much color too!
Thank you for linking this to the Sunday Showcase – see you this week!
Bernadette
May 19th, 2011 on 12:09 am
Brilliant! This is such a great *inexpensive* craft idea for the kiddlets.
May 20th, 2011 on 7:04 pm
LOVE the idea. We will definitely be trying this out as soon as I get some paint chips! Thanks
May 21st, 2011 on 12:01 am
this is a simply BRILLIANT idea, I totally love it! So want to do this this weekend!
May 22nd, 2011 on 12:22 am
thanks a lot. such a great idea! we have tried this yesterday during our playgroup outing to butterfly and reptiles farm and the kids had so much fun playing color match.
May 26th, 2011 on 6:05 pm
Love your site and LOVED this activity. It was a morning saver. =) Pics and activity (and of course credit) at cowsgomooandducksgoquack.blogspot.com
June 13th, 2011 on 7:19 pm
Great idea! and so simple, I love it!
Thanks for sharing!
June 29th, 2011 on 4:59 pm
Valerie, this is such a fabulous idea! I just shared a post about this on my blog with a link back to you. Awesome! Kids enjoyed this one so much.
Love your blog!
http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/06/color-scavenger-hunt.html
August 5th, 2011 on 10:41 am
LOVE this idea, we have been having fun with it all Summer!
I posted a picture of ours on my blog today with a link to your post! Thanks!!!
September 2nd, 2011 on 10:11 pm
I just posted about this on my blog with a link back to you. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
September 16th, 2011 on 10:32 am
I loved this ideas so much I featured you on Over the Big Moon today!
http://overthebigmoon.blogspot.com/2011/09/pinterest-interests_15.html
Thanks for the great idea!
October 25th, 2011 on 12:09 am
Love, love, love this idea!!! I will be saving this for our rainbow unit!
March 25th, 2012 on 5:30 pm
I continue to be in love with this idea…thanks for the inspiration. Is it all right if I link back to you on a post I am writing about our own Color Hunt? TY.
March 25th, 2012 on 5:31 pm
Absolutely!! Thanks for linking, Marnie! xoxo