Paint-samples nature color-hunt is a fun Montessori color tablets DIY to get your little naturalist outdoors while refining the senses!
As children spend more and more time indoors, a lot of it on screens, it is crucial that we create plenty of outdoor play opportunities! Besides, children can learn so much from nature! As your child observes the way leaves sway in the wind, s/he is refining the visual sense. Moreover, as your child tunes in to hear the many sounds in nature, the sense of hearing is stimulated. Have you ever smelled the damp aroma of the earth after the rain? What about awakening the olfactory sense by smelling fragrant spring flowers? Have you ever asked your child to describe to you all the shades of green? Especially in the spring, when nature awakes and cloaks us in all the gorgeous shades of young leaves, bring your child’s attention to colors like sea green, lime green khaki, emerald, etc. (We love the award-winning GREEN book!) So, one fun nature-themed activity to get your naturalist outdoors is to create a paint-samples nature scavenger color-hunt game which can also be a Montessori color tablets DIY. Most importantly, your little one will be busy and observant as s/he plays creatively and explores outside in a backyard, park, or woods.
YOU’LL Need to Make Paint-Samples Nature Color-Hunt
- paint samples ~ also called swatches, paint chips or paint samples in a variety of colors you would naturally find outside
- a hole puncher~ I am using a hexagon puncher
- a single hole puncher
- a metal ring clip
For children to learn to “understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature” they MUST have contact with it … [The Secret of Childhood. Maria Montessori.] So, take them outdoors! Even if for five minutes to observe a crawling ladybug or smell damp moss, leaves, or wet tree trunks, while walking on a needle-covered path marveling at clouds.
Education is not something that a teacher does, but that it is a natural process that develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment.
The Absorbent Mind. Maria Montessori
A Note On Paint-Samples
Paint swatches activities are low-budget since the resource is free! Besides, you can use them in so many different creative play. Find them at a local hardware / DIY store under the remodeling/paint section. They are offered as free samples, but be mindful and only take what you need. Also, some paint samples have ‘windows’ which are perfect for a color hunt. This way, you do not need a hole puncher.
HOW TO MAKE Paint-Samples Nature Color-Hunt
First, punch a ‘window’ with a hexagon puncher. (See a puzzle extension below before proceeding to the next step.) Next, punch a hole in the top corner and arrange paint samples in whatever order you choose. I like to group the shades together, making it easier for children to find a color during a scavenger hunt. Then loop them onto the metal ring clip and click it closed. Now your little naturalist is ready to go and play the paint-samples nature scavenger color-hunt game!
Paint Samples Extensions
Use the punched-out hexagon shape and the ‘frame’ as a puzzle activity. (As shown in the video.) Lay your samples on a table. (With children age 2 yr + use only the three primary colors). Then offer your child the punched-out hexagon shape to match to its corresponding frame.
Although, the nature scavenger hunt works best when you can find an array of colors, preferably in spring when lots of flowers are blooming, in the summer, look for colorful wildflowers. Also, focus on all the shades of green which are abundant too ~ in trees, leaves, grasses, moss and stems! Discerning shades is the most challenging color discrimination and can be offered to older children to explore the range of hues of one color.
There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all the life to be found around them, in a real forest. Something emanates from those trees which speaks to the soul, something no book, no museum is capable of giving.
From Childhood to Adolescence. Maria Montessori
Montessori Color Tablets DIY
Paint samples can also be a substitute to Montessori Color Tablets Box 3. (See a detailed post HERE.)
Montessori color tablets DIY is also a fun activity to pair with colorful exotic and backyard birds. SEE BIRDS Kids Activities HERE.)
Dot-puncher Montessori color tablets DIY is another extension to use with either craft sticks or wooden pegs.
SPRING NATURE HUNT
Click HERE to download a FREE Spring Scavenger hunt.
Please, always supervise your child.
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