Let’s explore COLORS!
Before about 6 months, a baby’s eyesight is not fully developed. Their ability to focus and see colors is extremely limited. Books with simple, black and white images are perfect for young babies. Sit your baby on your lap, snuggle, and look at a black and white picture book together. Talk to your baby – tell them all about the pictures – they will enjoy the sound of your voice. You can even take their hand and point to things on the page and turn the page together.
At about 5 months, babies can see all the colors. You can introduce the colors in playful, fun, and engaging ways. Here are some ideas:
Locate 1 or 2 basic colors with your child. You might look for red, green, blue, orange, purple, pink, black, or brown. Helping your child identify colors provides a sense of exploration and learning at the same time.
Match a color to things in the household: your child’s room and clothing items. This will allow children to see, point, and listen to yo
u say the color and name of the object. This is a great everyday way to build your child’s vocabulary.
Add color to words to describe an action when identifying objects. For example: “Look at our big red car”, “we have a black dog”, “your shirt has blue dots”
Read books in which colors are identified such as “Brown, Brown Bear What Do You See” by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle, and “Mouse Paint” by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Don’t be afraid to read a book over and over. Young children learn from repetition!
Explore our Story Time Kit: Colors
Take home a pile of books to share
Brown Bear, Brown Bear,What do you See? [on CD]
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? [board book]
Oso pardo, oso pardo, qué ves ahí?
