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!!
More Outdoor Fun Activities to Try:
- How to Make a Simple Kite – with a sheet of paper
- How to Make an Outdoor Obstacle Course – with re-used pool noodles
- How to Make Sponge Bombs – a great alternative to water balloons
- 20 Favorite Must-Do Activities for Summer — some of our all-time favorites!
Awesome idea! And I have some spare paint chips laying around 🙂
That is a fantastic idea!
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!
Clara, just watching you wears me out… :0)
Love this!! Thinking I need to make a pit stop at home depot on the way to dance class tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE this too! So simple and what a great variation of a scavenger hunt!
Great idea, Maddie will love this! Now I need to stop by Lowe’s!
Love this idea!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Love it! Sharing on fb and twitter!
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!
I think it’s pretty neat to be able to distinguish close shades. I so need to stop by Home Depot 🙂
You are so creative. Valerie!!! We’ll try this for sure.
Brilliant! I’m going to go to Lowes and pick some up 😉 so I can do this with my son this weekend!
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!
Dear Valerie,
I’m pretty sure that every color on those chips can be matched on Clara’s shirt.
Love,
Mark
What a fantastic idea! I love how this opens the conversation about shades of color.
Fabulous idea! Paint chips are so fun! When I see them it is like walking into a candy store at Home Depot!
Great, great activity!
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?
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
What a fun activity! Love it 🙂
This is a brilliant idea Valerie, I just bought a love heart punch as well. So cool!
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!
LOVE this idea!
What a creative idea! I will share this one with my friends!
This is a BRILLIANT idea!!!
Terrific idea and so well executed!
Just shared on facebook!
What a great open ended activity. I pinned this to my board at http://pinterest.com/pin/21195433/
Brillant! The perfect preschooler craft! 🙂
Blessings,
Val
SO simple and yet SO awesome! R will love this!
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!
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.
I LOVE this idea! Thanks so much for sharing!
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!
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?
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!! 🙂
I love this idea…I am going to head out today and get some swatches together to make these for the girls!!!
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
I love this. It’s a great cheap way to have fun outside with the kids. I am going to try it.
What a great idea! I will definitely be doing this with my kids! Cheers!
LOVE this. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
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
Brilliant! This is such a great *inexpensive* craft idea for the kiddlets.
LOVE the idea. We will definitely be trying this out as soon as I get some paint chips! Thanks
this is a simply BRILLIANT idea, I totally love it! So want to do this this weekend!
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. 🙂
Love your site and LOVED this activity. It was a morning saver. =) Pics and activity (and of course credit) at cowsgomooandducksgoquack.blogspot.com
Great idea! and so simple, I love it!
Thanks for sharing!
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
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!!!
I just posted about this on my blog with a link back to you. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
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!
Love, love, love this idea!!! I will be saving this for our rainbow unit!
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.
Absolutely!! Thanks for linking, Marnie! xoxo